A STUDENT from Braintree fell to his death from a hotel while on holiday in Spain after a prank went wrong.

James Hore

A STUDENT from Braintree fell to his death from a hotel while on holiday in Spain after a prank went wrong.

Mark David Day, 20, fell more than 40ft from the Majorca Beach Hotel whilst staying at the popular tourist destination of Magaluf.

The undergraduate at Essex University was holidaying with friends when the tragedy happened on Sunday evening.

It has been reported that Mark was playing cards with two friends and had to run along the hotel corridor in just his socks and underwear as a forfeit for losing.

But he could not stop at the end of the passage and fell out of the window, plunging 40ft, the reports said.

It is believed no-one has yet been able contact Mark's parents, from Braintree, as they are on holiday.

Their three-storey mews home remained shut up yesterday and a neighbour said he had not seen any of the family for a couple of weeks.

He added that police arrived on Sunday night to speak to the family but found no-one at home.

Mark's grieving girlfriend was too upset to talk at her home in Basildon yesterday.

Broken-hearted Katie Barlow, who also studies at the same university, left a message on his Facebook page saying: “I love you forever and ever and Ill never stop.”

Speaking at their house in Basildon, Miss Barlow's mum said: “She is very upset and I don't think she wants to talk about it.

“She has only just found out. His parents don't even know yet, they are on holiday and we can't get in touch with them.”

An investigation has been launched into his death, which is not being treated as suspicious.

A spokeswoman said: “The University of Essex can confirm that Mark David Day was an undergraduate student at our Colchester campus.

“The university wishes to express its condolences to his family and friends and will be offering support to all those affected by Mark's death.”

The spokeswoman said Mark, who lists his interests as football and badminton, was studying accounting, finance and management and had completed a year of his course.

A spokeswoman for the Foreign Office said they could not comment on the incident at this stage.