British couple die as floods wash away market stalls

An ELDERLY British couple have been killed in flash floods following torrential rain in Spain.

The married holidaymakers, aged 72 and 70, were seen clinging to parts of a market street café in a quiet seaside resort on the Costa Blanca, near Benidorm.

According to an eyewitness, a stall at a flea market – which was being washed along by the floodwater – smashed into them and carried them away. The couple have not yet been named.

The cafe owner was also washed away, but managed to save himself.

The regular Friday market has 150 stalls and is popular with British tourists and expats.

Five other people were injured in the floods at Cala Finestrat, two miles from Benidorm.

The flooding followed two hours of heavy rain yesterday morning and swept away cars and market stalls. Huge amounts of water ran down a ravine and into the market at around 11:30am.

Government spokesman José Perez Grau confirmed the dead couple were a British man aged 72 and his wife aged 70. An 88-year-old man was also taken to hospital with a broken arm.

A 90-year-old Spanish woman feared missing was found safe.