Lianne Smith jailed for murdering her children

A British woman who murdered her two children in a Spanish hotel room has been jailed for 30 years.

Lianne Smith, 45, originally from Tyneside, admitted smothering Rebecca, five, and 11-month-old Daniel in Lloret de Mar in May 2010.

During her trail in June her defence claimed she was "psychiatrically disturbed".

But the jury at the Provincial Court in Girona decided she was criminally responsible for murdering the children.

The deaths happened a few days after Smith's partner, Martin Smith, was extradited to the UK on charges of sexually abusing her eldest daughter from another relationship.

Following the deportation, Smith claimed she thought British social services had arrived in Spain to take her children away from her.

She told a psychiatrist she killed them "out of love" but the prosecution described the murders as "abominable".

In a written statement issued to the media, Judge Adolfo Garcia Morales jailed her for 15 years for each of the murders

-BBC