A FAMILY has pledged to take civil action against the bosses of a Spanish resort where two North-East sisters died in horrific circumstances.

Mildred Bowman and Alice Wardle, both from the Gateshead area, perished after being trapped for four days inside a fold-down bed, in a Benidorm holiday apartment.

But more than three years later, a Spanish court has cleared the resort bosses of any criminal wrongdoing, ruling the sisters’ deaths were simply an accident.

The lengthy wait for a decision has proved an agonising time for the women’s families, who have now voiced their determination to fight for justice through a civil action.

Mrs Bowman’s sons, Paul and John Bowman, and daughter, Carole Gregory, have been outraged by the ruling.

Paul, 44, of Gateshead, said: “I don’t understand how it has taken three-and-a-half-years to get to this outcome. It has been a nightmare for the whole family.

This is not the end. We will now start a civil action.”

Mrs Bowman, 62, of Low Fell and Mrs Wardle, 68, of Bensham, flew to Benidorm on July 30, 2005 and checked into the Levante Club Apartments.

Mrs Wardle’s daughter, Allison Gibbons, was already in the resort with her husband, Peter, and their sons when the sisters failed to turn up for a pre-arranged meeting. On August 4, she insisted her mother’s room was broken into.

It was then that hotel staff made the discovery of the two women trapped inside the casement of a fold-down bed, which had collapsed from the wall, sealing them inside.

A judicial investigation was ordered by a local magistrate.

The cause of death was given as asphyxiation caused by the gradual pressure of the frame bearing down on the two women.

Their tour operator, My- Travel, also ordered its own investigation and a report sent by the company to the family said unsuitable screws and wall plugs were to blame.

However, Spanish police suggested at the time that the women had failed to pull out the legs of the bed, and their weight had caused the frame to come away from the wall.

A criminal case was brought before a court in Alicante, but now the family have been told that the resort has been cleared of all charges.

Mrs Bowman’s children were offered an out-of-court settlement by MyTravel, now owned by Thomas Cook, but turned it down, saying no cash could compensate for their loss.

The family are now planning to bring legal action against the company.

Paul Bowman said: “My- Travel put my mum and my auntie in that hotel.”

A Thomas Cook spokesman said: “The company continues to express its sincere condolences to the family.

“Following lengthy discussions with the family’s lawyer, we understood they had decided to proceed directly against the hotel through the Spanish legal system. Therefore, we are unable to comment further on this case.”

An inquest was opened into the sisters’ death in Gateshead, in 2005. Following the completion of the criminal case, it can be resumed.