FOUR holidaymakers have appeared in a Spanish court after fire broke out in a hotel causing £175,000 worth of a damage.

James Brown and Brandon McCahill, both 21, from Consett, along with 19-year-olds Georgia James and Lauren Smith, were all held by police.

It follows the evacuation of 100 guests during a blaze in Magaluf on Sunday at 8pm.

A uniformed Civil Guard officer escorted all four into the court building in the Majorcan capital Palma for a private hearing on Tuesday.

It is understood police believe the fire allegedly started after the group of friends used a lighter and an aerosol to set fire to another unnamed tourist’s feet as a drunken prank.

A Civil Guard statement said: “Civil Guard investigators began probing the case of the fire.

“After interviewing several witnesses they discovered that in the room where the fire started there were two women and three men, that one of them was asleep and that the other four were bothering him using a lighter and an aerosol on his feet.”

It is understood the seat of the fire, which destroyed a hotel room, was at the end of a mattress.

No-one was badly hurt but several people, including three Civil Guard officers, had to be treated for smoke inhalation.

It is currently unclear whether the suspects have been remanded into custody or will be facing trial.