A nine-year-old British girl has died after eating an ice cream while on holiday in the Costa Del Sol with her family.

The schoolgirl, who was allergic to milk and nuts, is believed to have gone into anaphylactic shock after suffering a severe allergic reaction.

Malaga's Sur newspaper reported she was rushed to the Costa Del Sol hospital near Marbella in Spain on Saturday.

She was later transferred to Malaga's Materno Infantil Hospital in a critical condition and died on Monday afternoon.

The child had been staying with her family at the Club La Costa World hotel in the Spanish town of Mijas.


Image: The nine-year-old was rushed to hospital after eating an ice cream. File pic

A spokesperson for CLC World Resorts and Hotels - which owns the resort - confirmed the girl had not eaten the ice cream on their premises.

The company offered its "heartfelt condolences" to the family and thanked staff and emergency services for their "quick" response.

The girl has not yet been named.

A post-mortem was carried out on Monday morning, but the results - which have been sent to a judge heading an investigation into the death - will not be made public.

More tests will now be carried out to confirm whether the girl's death was caused by an allergic reaction to the food she ate.

Image: Natasha Ednan-Laperouse died after eating a Pret baguette

A Foreign Office spokesperson said: "Our staff are supporting the family of a British girl following her death in Spain, and we are in contact with the Spanish hospital services."

Recently, questions have been raised over food labelling laws following an inquest into the death of 15-year-old Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, who suffered an allergic reaction after eating a Pret A Manger baguette.

The inquest found Pret A Manger failed to address the seriousness of food allergies, and the teenager's father accused the chain of a "complete dereliction of duty".