British father pleads guilty over death of young son who fell from hotel window

A British father has pleaded guilty over the death of his child after he fell from a hotel window in Cyprus.

The 37-year-old defendant, from Essex, who has not been named, and his family were reportedly a few days into their holiday at the southwestern resort town of Paphos in July when the boy fell from the hotel's fourth-floor window.

The circumstances of the fall remain unclear - and the boy's age had been reported as both two and three years old.

The defendant appeared in court in Paphos on 31 July and was allowed to leave to return to the UK for his son's funeral.

Lawyer Alexandros Alexandrou said on Thursday that his client was disappointed that the attorney general denied a request to dismiss the case on humanitarian grounds.

The defendant was accompanied by his parents in court in the coastal town.

He was due to plead to a single charge of causing death due to negligent and careless actions, but Judge Froso Christodoulides granted his request to postpone proceedings until Tuesday.

Although the attorney general understands the defendant's grief, the case must proceed as a matter of public interest, state prosecutors told the court.

The lawyer said his client faces a maximum prison sentence of four years, which can be served in a UK prison, and a minimum sentence of a fine.

For the judge to hand down a suspended sentence, his client must be sentenced to no more than three years imprisonment, he added.

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