The mother who went missing from Staffordshire  before her two children died in Spain expressed fears about the extradition of her husband on child abuse charges.

Lianne Smith, 43, claimed to believe her husband Martin, 45, was innocent after his arrest earlier this month by Spanish police.

She feared her five-year-old daughter Rebecca and 11-month-old son Daniel would be taken into care by the Spanish authorities after the arrest.

On Saturday she checked into the Hotel Miramar in Lloret de Mar on the Costa Brava, where the children’s bodies were found on Tuesday after Mrs Smith reportedly suffocated them. She was arrested on suspicion of their murder and has reportedly confessed.

The couple lived in Deykin Road, Lichfield, for six months before leaving suddenly.

Staffordshire Police had been treating Lianne and Rebecca Smith as missing since December 2007. They had moved to Lichfield from Cumbria but within a short time they had moved again.

Speaking to a publicist she found on-line in the days after the arrest, she said: “Martin’s gone now and I’ve been left looking after both of the children.

“I really don’t know how I’ll cope.”

Today there were reports that Mrs Smith had once worked as a local authority education adviser in Walsall.

Back in Lloret de Mar the town centre fell silent for a minute today in memory of the tragic children.