An elderly British woman and her son have been found dead at their home in southern Spain.

       Police believe the 90-year-old starved to death after her 63-year-old son died of natural causes.

       Local police discovered their bodies after being asked to send officers round to check on them.

       They had to force their way into the property in Alhaurin el Grande a half-hour drive inland from the Costa del Sol resort of Fuengirola. Follow-up tests are now taking place following post-mortems.

       But Civil Guard officers tasked with investigating what happened have concluded both died from natural causes and say nothing is pointing to them being the victims of a crime.

       The Brits were known to local social services, and town hall workers raised the alarm days after an ambulance was called to their home to assist the unnamed woman.

       Her son is understood to have been her registered carer. It was not immediately clear this morning whether he also had health problems.

       Last Thursday, two British pensioners were found dead at their Costa Blanca home.

       Firefighters discovered the bodies of the man and woman, who police sources described as friends that lived together, at the residential property near the small town of San Fulgencio a 45-minute drive south of Alicante.

       Staff at a local council social services department had raised the alarm.

       There were no signs of violence at the scene and a subsequent post-mortem reinforced indicators that the pair died of natural causes.

       The man was 82, and the woman was 74. Both are believed to have suffered chronic illnesses and had been categorised by social services as “vulnerable.”

       Their area is on a residential estate, which is extremely popular with foreign pensioners.