A British couple were given a one-year prison sentence, later suspended, for abandoning their son at the end of the family’s holiday in Mallorca.
The couple, who have not been named, were arrested on Wednesday as they tried to board a flight at Palma airport to return home. Three of their children who were with them at the time were taken into care.
Their oldest son, 17, was reported to have thrown a tantrum and refused to get on the bus to the airport.
The family continued with their journey, leaving the 17-year-old at the Bellevue Hotel Club in Alcudia, a popular holiday spot in Mallorca.
In a court hearing on Thursday, Judge Catalina Mulet said: "The accused were preparing to take a bus around 9am on Wednesday from their hotel where they had been on holiday to the airport for a return flight to the UK with the rest of their family.
"When the eldest of their children refused to return home, the accused decided to continue the trip home and got on the bus.
"Their son was left at the hotel despite the fact that he had no accommodation there and that they hadn't entrusted his care to an adult or given him the means with which to look after himself," said a summary of the sentence.
The couple pleaded guilty to abandoning their son, and their prison sentence was suspended. The whole family was allowed to fly home.
