The manager of the Greek hotel in which two British children died will face manslaughter charges.

Christianne Shepherd, seven, and her brother Robert, six, were found to have been poisoned by carbon monoxide fumes.

Chief of security Dimitris Bineris said the manager of the Corcyra Hotel in Corfu will be charged with negligent manslaughter once toxicology tests on the children's blood have been completed.

He said the hotel's owner, its maintenance manager and an engineer who installed an air conditioning unit will also be charged.

Mr Bineris added that under Greek law the individuals could face up to five years in prison, but if they receive a sentence of less than three years they can choose to pay a fine instead.

He added that the air conditioning engineer faces charges because it is believed a hole was left between the boiler room and the adjacent holiday bungalow when a new unit was installed.

This allowed the lethal gases from the boiler to escape into the room.

The children's father Neil Shepherd, 38, and his girlfriend Ruth Beatson, 27, were in hospital in a serious condition today after they were found unconscious in the same room as them.

Medical staff were waiting to tell the couple, from Horbury, West Yorks, about the deaths of the children until their condition improved.

The children's grief-stricken mother Sharon Wood, 35, brought flowers to the scene today, supported by her partner, as well as Greek and consular officials.

Earlier she was said to have been "inconsolable" after going to see their bodies at a mortuary.

Guests at the hotel were today in a sombre mood as the bungalow where it happened remained cordoned off by police.

Personal items such as inflatables and children's shoes remained on the rear patio of the bungalow.

A child's poignant letter hand-written in pencil was left on a table nearby with a small paper plate covered in yellow flowers and petals.

The note, illustrated with a small drawing of a young girl holding a balloon, said: "Dear Christie, I hope you are alive. If you're not alive I will be very sad and Isabel too. From Ellie and Isabel."

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