Brit dad WILL stand trial after son, 2, plunged to his death at Cyprus hotel after last minute plea to throw case out

A BRITISH dad whose two-year-old died falling out of a hotel window in Cyprus will be asked to enter a plea in court tomorrow as police sources say the authorities were “over-zealous” in prosecuting him. Despite a last-ditch attempt by the 37-year-old city exec’s lawyers to have the case thrown out, the Cypriot Attorney General last night confirmed that legal proceedings will go ahead. The tot died after falling 33ft from a hotel window The dad allegedly sat the boy down on a window ledge, thinking it was closed The man, from Essex, stands accused of causing death by a rash, reckless or dangerous act after his son fell 33ft from a fourth-floor window at the luxury King Evelthon hotel in Paphos on July 12. He is expected to plead not guilty. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! In August, a judge allowed him to travel home to the UK to attend the tot’s funeral in exchange for a £25,750 bail fee. Local opinion is divided over whether it was right to jail the man – who works for a big-four consultancy firm – for eight days after his arrest before granting him bail. A number of local legal and police sources have said they feel the dad has been harshly treated in light of the tragedy. Others said they were ready to extradite him from the UK if he did not return to the island for trial. One well-placed source in the Cypriot police told The Sun: “There is a feeling that perhaps we over-zealously followed the letter of the law and didn’t show enough empathy towards the British family in their moment of grief.” A western diplomat based on the island said: “The entire justice system knows it is being watched. Most read in The Sun The Brit dad has been accused of causing death by a rash, reckless or dangerous act Credit: Getty The boy was rushed to Paphos General Hospital but declared dead on arrival Credit: Google “The UK still makes up for the bulk of tourists here. A lighter touch would be welcomed, but unfortunately the system is very old fashioned and not known for its soft approach.” And a judicial source in Cyprus told the Sun: “That a father who has lost his son is being treated like a criminal is absurd. “The focus from the start should have been on the window and whether, in a hotel corridor leading to the lift, it was right it was open.” Today The Sun visited the five-star King Evelthon Beach Hotel and Resort and found that the window from which the toddler fell was wide open with no safety measures. Two Brit expats, both of whom have lived in Cyprus for years, were staying at the hotel. One said that she could not believe nothing had been done to secure the wide sliding window on the fourth floor. She said: “They should have done something to make the window safer. “It’s not something the family will ever get over.” The other, a former prosecutor, said that attitudes toward health and safety on the island are different to those in the UK. She said: “People drive dangerously here and it’s completely different. “This hotel has always had problems with health and safety.” In July 2022, a young British man drowned in the hotel’s swimming pool. Ben Woods, 21, had been on holiday in Cyprus with his family when the tragedy unfolded. Comment now