TWO elderly sisters who died after their fold-up bed fell on top of them at their Spanish apartment, suffocated after being trapped for four days, it has been revealed.

The full ordeal suffered by Alice Wardle, 67, and Milly Bowman, 62, emerged yesterday as the details were explained to their families.

The relatives have now taken legal advice and plan to sue the owners of the Levante Club apartments in Benidorm.

It is believed the women, both fun-loving grandmothers, went for a lie down after spending a morning in the sun on July 31.

They folded down the twin beds, which were stored on the wall and went to sleep side-by-side. But the heavy wooden frame, fixed to the wall by screws, came free and landed on top of them.

They were found the following Thursday after their family insisted their room was broken into. The shock of finding the bodies quickly turned to outrage when a post-mortem examination revealed the time of death to be last Wednesday night or early Thursday morning - four days after they were trapped.

Their relatives are now contemplating the possibility they were conscious for much of the time, struggling to free themselves.

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

The families of the two widows want to know why the frame came loose and why their room was not checked by a maid in the whole time they were trapped.

The sisters, who lived in homes a mile apart in Low Fell, Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, were inseparable friends who holidayed together several times a year.