British pensioners swept to their deaths in Spain flood ‘were devoted couple’

Kenneth Hall, 72, and his wife, Mary, 70, from Bootle, Merseyside, were visiting a market in Finestrat, near Benidorm, when torrential rain led a river to burst its banks at around midday on Friday. Water surged through a dried-up ravine and deluged traders who set up their market stands in the area each week.

Neighbour and close friend Pat Mercer, 62, said the Halls were midway through a fortnight’s holiday to the Costa Blanca resort of Benidorm when the tragedy struck.

She said: “They went to Benidorm twice a year. They loved it out there, they went there for the last 20 years or so.

“They went to all the shows out there.

“They were fabulous, they were the most devoted couple you would ever want to meet.”

She added: “Kenny was a proper gentleman. Mary was happy-go-lucky. She loved living around here.”

Mrs Mercer said the couple had three sons, Kenneth junior, Keith, and Chris, and a daughter, Carol.

Her son, Simon, was married to Carol who had given birth to the Halls’ granddaughter, Alice, seven weeks ago.

Mr and Mrs Hall, from Cowper Street, had recently seen the arrival of their first great-grandchild as well, she said.

She said all the family were “absolutely shocked” and that Kenneth jun had flown out to Spain to make the necessary arrangements.

“All the neighbours are traumatised by it,” she said. “It has hit me. They have lived here for more than 40 years.

“They were very houseproud. Kenny loved his car and took care of the house.”

She said both had been retired for many years and that Mr Hall had worked in engineering while Mrs Hall was a home help for the local council.

The Halls are understood to have been dragged away in the current as water flowed through the market place, wrecking cars and stalls.

Their bodies were reportedly found trapped under a trailer after the flood.

Another two people were taken to hospital, Spanish media reported, while a 90-year-old who had been reported missing was later found unharmed in a nearby street.