Poisoned girl makes good recovery

It is thought the drink was mixed with dishwasher detergent

A two-year-old British girl who was rushed to hospital in Cyprus after drinking poison is now much better.

Dr Andreas Hadjidemetriou, of the Makarios Children's Hospital in Nicosia, told the BBC she was now breathing unaided, walking and talking.

The girl, Annabelle Rhodes, became ill on Saturday after being given a drink at a hotel in Limassol which was mixed with cleaning fluid instead of water.

Her father Mark Rhodes, from London, has asked for "total privacy".

Cypriot police have questioned the hotel's staff about the incident.

Describing her condition as "very good" with "no complications", Dr Hadjidemetriou, the hospital's head of paediatrics, told BBC News that Annabelle and her family were free to travel back to the UK to continue treatment there, but had decided to remain on the island for a few more days.

Damage extent

She will undergo tests with an endoscopic camera in two or three days' time to check on the healing of stomach lesions caused by the acid in the cleaning fluid.

Mr Rhodes - who lives in Paddington, west London - also tried the drink and required first-aid at the scene, but was not admitted to hospital.

He is chief executive of two oil transport firms, Petrotrans and Alegratrans, part of the Greenoak Group which has offices in Limassol.

He described the poisoning as a "highly emotional and difficult time".

Both Mr Rhodes and his wife Judith, 32, now must wait as doctors test the extent of the burns to Annabelle's throat, caused when she sucked the chemical down through a straw.

The manager of the Curium Palace, a four-star 1950s boutique hotel where the incident took place, has refused to comment.