Apartment search in dead children case

A woman believed to be the mother of the two young children killed in Spain on Tuesday has been taken to her apartment in Barcelona.

Mrs Smith, 43, was arrested after her children, Rebecca, 5 and brother Daniel, aged 11 months, were found dead in their hotel room in the resort of Lloret de Mar in Spain's Costa Brava.

The woman suspected to be Mrs Smith has been seen outside her apartment being escorted by police and wearing a jacket over her head to hide her face. Detectives are understood to have carried out a search of the property in her presence.

Police were also reported to have spoken to the children's British babysitter, who is understood to have sounded the alarm after they disappeared with Ms Smith. The young British woman appeared to have lived with the family for a while, Spanish newspaper el Periodico reported.

The children's father, Martin Smith, 45, an alleged paedophile, appeared before magistrates in Carlisle on Wednesday, accused of child sex offences. Originally from North Shields, he had been one of Britain's most wanted men up until his arrest by Spanish police earlier this month.

His wife and Rebecca had been reported missing from the Staffordshire area since December 2007.

The case has been referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) by both the Cumbria Constabulary and the Staffordshire Police.