English man over Irish woman's death in Spain

Police in Spain have arrested an English man over the death of his Irish partner during a drunken row.

Police in Spain have arrested an English man over the death of his Irish partner during a drunken row.

Donna Fogarty (59) was found dead by police at her home on the Costa Blanca on Wednesday morning. She had suffered severe bruising to her head.

Her partner, Philip Day (55), who is originally from Manchester, called emergency services early on Wednesday morning and reported that Ms Fogarty had suffered a fall and appeared to be unconscious.

When the police and paramedics arrived they found the body of the mother of three on the floor of her villa. Police in Spain said Mr Day appeared to be very drunk at the time. They arrested him several hours later on suspicion of murder.

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The couple had been living in an isolated cottage in Almoradi near Torrevieja for the past three years.

Neighbours said they drank a lot, and could often be heard fighting and arguing.

A local bar owner said they had been drinking in his bar most of the previous day, and had argued most of the time. He said they had also been drinking there on Sunday, sitting at separate tables but shouting at one another across the bar.

Mr Day will appear before an examining magistrate in the nearby town of Orihuela where he is expected to be charged with murder.

Ms Fogarty was the mother of three children from a previous relationship.

The Department of Foreign Affairs said it was aware of the incident and was offering consular assistance to the woman's family in Ireland. It was not known if or when Ms Fogarty's body would be flown home for burial.