By: DAISY SAMPSON
daisy.sampson@the-resident.com
AN EIGHT-year-old British girl on holiday in the Algarve has been placed in protective care at a children’s home in Loulé.
Social services were alerted to the girl being in danger by holidaymakers at the guest house where she and her mother were staying in the Lagos area, according to PSP police reports.
A spokesman from the British Embassy told The Resident on Wednesday: “The girl was found wandering the streets alone while on holiday.”
The unnamed girl was initially taken to a children’s refuge in Faro for protection before being transferred to a more permanent facility for children in Loulé on August 9.
Luis Villas Boas, the director of the children’s refuge Refúgio Aboim Ascensão in Faro, told The Resident: “Officials from the department of social services brought an eight-year-old girl of British nationality to us at 5am on August 17. The girl stayed with us for 72 hours and was then taken by social services to a facility in Loulé on August 19.”
The mother of the child was confirmed as being 44 years old and from England by a spokesperson at Barlavento hospital.
“She was brought by ambulance to the hospital on August 21 suffering with kidney problems. She was discharged on August 25.”
According to Portuguese media, the mother suffered from depression and alcohol dependence.
Both mother and child are said to be in good health now, according to a spokesman from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London (FCO).
The girl remains in care in Loulé and her mother visited her at the facility on Tuesday under supervision.
A source from the facility in Loulé where the girl is now staying told The Resident: “We can confirm that the girl is here and that she is well. She will remain at our home until a court decides otherwise.”
A spokesman from the FCO told The Resident: “No official charges are being brought against the mother who we believe is on holiday with her daughter and no other members of family.”
The mother is due to appear in Portimão family court on September 5 where a judge will talk to her informally about the events surrounding her daughter being taken into care.
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