Tribute to woman killed in Spain in possible case of gender violence

"She was just fantastic, in every sense of the word. If you looked up the definition of mother, that was her, she did everything for those kids."

Maxine Hill is describing Victoria Hart, a 33-year-old British mother of three who was living in Spain when she was killed last month in what police are treating as a possible case of gender violence.

Hart, originally from Solihull, was killed on Saturday 24 January in the inland town of Alhaurín el Grande - located between Marbella and Malaga, the town council has confirmed.

Hill, her friend of 24 years, has now set up a Go Fund Me page to support Hart's children in the aftermath of her death.

"She was just the most hard working mother," Hill said. "She did not stop working and those kids had everything they could possibly want, and they deserve to still have that.

"Everything that life has thrown at them recently and specifically the family, you just think, 'What can I do to help?'"

Hart moved to Spain in 1999 with her family, and had become a successful business woman.

Hill said: "She ran multiple salons in our town. Even when she had the babies she was back to work almost immediately, even too much of a worker sometimes - I don't think she ever had a sick day in her life.

"She was beautiful, absolutely beautiful. It's hard to tell you what she was, because at the moment I still don't believe what's happened."

A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office spokesperson confirmed to the BBC that the department was "supporting the family of a British woman who died in Spain and we are in contact with the local authorities".