An Italian teenager has been found dead in her London flat when her terrified mother raised the alarm after not hearing from her for four days.

Benedetta Podeseta, who had been working in a pub in Tottenham Court Road while studying, was found 'lifeless' by friends after she was not heard from for almost a week.

Miss Podesta, who was known as 'Bibi', had been away from work complaining of feeling unwell before her sudden death.

The 18-year-old, from the Italian port city of Genoa, was found by a friend who had been asked to check up on her by the girl's devastated family.

Tragedy: Italian student Benedetta Podeseta, 18, has been dead in her London flat after her mother failed to here from her for four days

Heartbroken: Benedetta was known as 'Bibi' to her family who say they have been 'destroyed' by her sudden death

Some reports said that she may have died two days before she was found and had been complaining of 'fever and headaches'.

Future: Miss Podesta was improving her English on her 'dream' stay in Britain but had planned to return to Italy to enter university.

Her father Claudio has told the Italian press their family has been 'destroyed' by her death, which is reportedly not being treated as suspicious.

He said: 'Surviving your children is a chilling thing that should never happen. Bibi was a wonderful girl, full of life.'

Friend Massimiliano D'urso wrote on Facebook: 'I still do not believe it. Rest in peace little angel.'

Miss Podesta was improving her English on her 'dream' stay in Britain but had planned to return to Italy to enter university.

Genoa's deputy prosecutor Federico Manotti has opened a file over her death but the post-mortem examination and inquest will be carried out in Britain.

'Bibi' is second young Italian found dead in London in the past month.

Just two weeks ago, 24-year-old Italian student Francesca Bezuayehu Bisco was discovered by her unnamed roommate at their flat in Dalston, Hackney.

'Bibi' is second young Italian found dead in London in the past month after Bezuayehu Bisco, 24, was also found dead in her flat in Dalston

She had come to London from the Italian town of Adria in the Veneto region of northern Italy to study computer science and improve her English.

Francesca had been in London for around a year and a half and had worked part-time in a fast-food restaurant to finance her studies. Her cause of death is also currently unconfirmed.



