Children taken off drunken parents

Hotel staff in Vilamoura in the Algarve called police after the couple collapsed on Friday night. They were rushed to a health centre in nearby Loule while their children aged one, two and six were taken to the Refugio Aboim Ascensao children's home in Faro.

Dr Luis Villas-Boas, the home's director, said the incident was "very very shocking".

"It is the first time it has happened in my 22 years working at this home," he said. "It's normal for a couple for one to drink while the other doesn't drink. The problem here is they were both passed out. It was extreme neglect and abandonment. I hope somebody carries this information to the UK so these parents can at least be seen because these children are indeed at risk.

The couple, who are believed to from Northern Ireland, arrived with their children at the Aparthotel Mourabel in Vilamoura on Friday for a one-week holiday.

A barman at the hotel's tapas bar, who did not want to be named, said they were well-dressed, "nice people" with well-behaved children. On Friday night the parents had been drinking at a nearby bar with a happy hour until 8pm where a pint of lager costs just one euro, he said.

The husband collapsed in the hotel reception while his wife staggered into the bar with her children and fell into a chair, the barman said.

Dr Villas-Boas said his children's home was called at just after midnight and asked to provide emergency shelter for three British children whose parents were drunk. The children were returned to their parents the next morning.

The three children showed no signs of neglect, and Dr Villas-Boas believe they not will have any lasting ill effects from their ordeal.

A spokesman for the local police in Vilamoura said: "Staff called us at 10pm as the children were crying and they could not revive the parents, who were both out cold. We arrived to assess the situation and called the INEM (Portugal's national medical emergency service) as the parents were unconscious, and they were taken to hospital. The INEM called the social services. We looked after the children until the social services arrived and they took them away."