Rescue workers searching for a toddler who fell down a well in Spain have found several strands of his hair.

The two-year-old boy, called Julen, plunged into the 360ft shaft on Sunday while walking with his parents in a mountainous area near the village of Totalan, northeast of Malaga.

The discovery of the hair on Wednesday is the first confirmation that the boy – who is said to have momentarily wandered away from his mother and father – is down the hole.

DNA tests have shown it belongs to the child.

The boy’s dad, José Roselló, told reporters that the family was "not going to give up" and have "hope that he is not dead."

He said: "I feel like we have [been] here for months," adding that, while he feared the worst, he had “hope for an angel to help us bring him back alive".

The narrow well was bored only a month earlier during water inspection works and was not covered or protected, local media reported.

The four-day rescue operation – which has involved more than 100 professionals and volunteers – had earlier found a bag of sweets in the well, but two cameras lowered into the shaft failed to capture any trace of the toddler.

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Miguel Angel Escano, mayor of Totalan, said: "There is hope he's alive but it diminishes with each passing minute."

Rescue teams are now digging two tunnels, one parallel to the well and another at an angle aiming to reach the point where the child is believed to have fallen.