UK children found dead in Corfu

The family was on holiday over the half-term break

Two UK children have been found dead in a hotel room on the island of Corfu.

It is not known how Robert Shepherd, six, and sister Christianne, seven, died, but Greek police suspect they may have been poisoned.

Their father Neil Shepherd and his partner Ruth Beatson were found unconscious in the same hotel room and remain in a coma in hospital.

The family, from Wakefield, West Yorkshire, was found by a cleaner in a luxury hotel in the village of Gouvia.

The children's natural mother has been informed of their deaths.

A police spokesman in Greece said post-mortem examinations were to be carried out on Friday, and toxicology tests would show whether poison was the cause of death.

The BBC's Malcolm Brabant, in Corfu, said the cause of death remained a "mystery" because sources at Corfu General Hospital had said early tests suggested the family had not consumed anything poisonous.

The stomach contents of all the four people have been sent to a university on the mainland for toxicology tests Police spokesman

Many hotel guests feared that the family may have been overwhelmed by "toxic fumes" that may have been related to a heating system, he said.

He also said guests had reported seeing Robert collapse at breakfast earlier in the day, and that the family had complained of feeling "woozy".

The children's father, 38, and his 28-year-old partner are in the intensive care unit of the local hospital, and are in a critical condition.

Stefanos Gasteratos, a pathologist at Corfu General, said the cause of death was under investigation, although "first indications show the ingestion of a powerful poison", although he said toxicology test results would provide more information.

A Greek police spokesman said food poisoning, particularly mushrooms, was a possible cause. The hotel said no-one else had been taken ill.

Fishing village

The family, from Horbury near Wakefield, was on a week's holiday with Thomas Cook for the school half-term break.

Brian Holmes, a neighbour, described Mr Shepherd as "a really good family man" who "loves his children".

Meanwhile, the tour company said: "At this stage it is not possible to speculate on the causes, however we are working closely with the hospital and the police to gain further information and to support the family."

The Louis Corcyra hotel, where the family were staying, is in Gouvia, a small fishing village about five miles north of Corfu town. It is considered an upmarket destination.

The Louis Corcyra has strongly denied any possibility of food poisoning at the hotel.

Last year 100,000 British tourists visited Corfu, and travel specialists say the deaths will have a big impact on the island.