Action against hotel where woman died

Hella Nicholl was on holiday in Kusadasi in Turkey

Legal action has been brought against a Turkish hotel where a British woman died after drinking alcohol spiked with methanol.

Hella Nicholl, from Birmingham, was on holiday with her fiancée in the resort of Kusadasi when she died in June.

They had been drinking cocktails in the hotel bar before she fell ill.

Results of a post mortem examination showed Miss Nicholl was poisoned by methanol - a toxic substance more commonly found in paint stripper.

Miss Nicholl's family have helped investigators

Her father John has always maintained his daughter's drink had been spiked

He said he hoped the Tusan Hotel, in Kusadasi, where she bought the drink, would be closed down.

He said: "We have found invoices proving that illegal alcohol was purchased by the management of the Tusan Hotel.

"We have managed to track this down to a warehouse some miles away and the owner of that warehouse, we now know, has been arrested.

Illegal methods

He added: "It has destroyed my family, none of us are going to enjoy Christmas this year, we've got nothing to celebrate."

But Emre Hurda, from the Tusan Hotel denied the claims: "We have all of our bills, we bought our drinks from a legal shop but if this legal shop is producing alcohol by illegal methods, this is out of our hands", she said.

The warehouse from where the drinks originated has been closed down.

A spokeswoman for the Foreign Office said: "The Kusadasi public prosecutor has opened a court case against the Tusan Hotel.

"We understand the first trial will be held on 28 February and between now and the court case, the gathering of evidence process will take place."