A woman found dead in a British hotel room is believed to be that of Brenda Leyland who had been accused by a TV reporter of online trolling of the McCann family.

The discovery was made on Saturday.

A Leicestershire police spokeswoman said: “Police were called at 1.42pm on Saturday 4 October to reports of a body of a woman in a hotel room in Smith Way, Grove Park (Leicestershire).

“Officers have attended the scene and a file is being prepared for the coroner. Identification of the deceased is a matter for the coroner.

“The death is not being treated as suspicious.”

Last week a TV news reporter confronted Ms Leyland, 63, over the claim that she had used Twitter to post a number of comments attacking the McCanns.

When asked by a Sky News reporter why she was using her Twitter account to attack the McCanns, who live with their nine-year-old twins, Mrs Leyland replied: 'I'm entitled to do that.'

The reporter told her that she had been reported to police, and that Scotland Yard was considering a dossier of Twitter accounts said to show a 'campaign of abuse' against the McCanns, she paused as she got into a 4x4 and replied: 'That's fair enough.'

The crime correspondent said he was later invited into Mrs Leyland's house, where she told him she 'had questions for the McCanns' but 'hoped she hadn't broken the law' by posting tweets in which she spread rumours about the McCanns' marriage, and said she hoped they would suffer for ever.

It is believed that she left her home after that incident.

However, there is no known link between the confrontation and her death, which officers said was not being treated as suspicious.

On Facebook, her son Ben Leyland wrote: “I love you mum and I will miss you forever.”