THE daughter of one of two pensioners killed when a foldaway bed collapsed at their Spanish hotel said last night that their deaths amounted to manslaughter.

Pensioners Alice Wardle and Mildred Bowman were trapped in the foldaway bed and could have lain for four days before their bodies were discovered in an apartment complex in Benidorm.

They had pulled down the beds, stored against the wall, and apparently went to sleep, but a heavy wooden frame fixed to the wall by screws came free and collapsed on them.

The widows' bodies were found side by side in the twin beds after relatives also holidaying in the resort became concerned about them.

Mrs Bowman's daughter, Carole Gregory, said she is determined to find out exactly how her 62-year-old mother and 67-year-old aunt perished.

In the wake of the tragedy, at the Levante Club Apartments, a family group flew to Benidorm to join other relatives already out there in a bid to establish how the sisters died.

Mrs Bowman and Mrs Wardle, of Gateshead, had flown out to the Spanish resort on Saturday, July 30, and apparently died the following day, but their bodies were not discovered until Thursday, August 4.

Confusion surrounds exactly when the pensioners died despite suggestions they had gone for an afternoon lie down on the Sunday.

Mrs Gregory, 44, who also lives in Gateshead, said that while she accepted the incident was caused by the bed and does not suspect anything sinister, she was distraught over how they died.

She said: "It's been terrible. This sort of thing should not happen in this day and age.

"To me, it is nothing short of manslaughter and someone has got to be responsible for this.

"We have got legal representation in Benidorm and are determined to find out what happened.

"Nobody should die this way.

''It's like living a nightmare and the family is determined to get justice. The whole thing defies belief.''

Family members are now displaying pictures in Benidorm in a bid to find out when the sisters were last seen.

Mrs Gregory said relatives were expecting to head home at the end of the week but she was unsure when the bodies of the two sisters would be returned.

A spokesman for the Levante Club Apartments said: ''This is in the hands of the police and the authorities.

''We cannot say anything further out of respect for the families. They are the most important people in this situation.''