Two sisters from Weston-super-Mare have been badly injured after an explosion at a hotel on the Costa del Sol, Spain.

Carol Gardener, 53, is in a sedated coma after undergoing brain surgery and her sister, Julie Loud, suffered severe cuts to her legs.

The pair were injured as they walked past the three-star Hotel Globales Cortijo Blanco on their way to the beach when it exploded at about 10am on Monday.

The sisters had been on holiday with their husbands at the hotel in Marbella when the side of the building blew off.

It is understood the explosion happened in the water pipes that ran down the side of the hotel.

Mrs Loud's husband, Andrew, said they could have been killed in the explosion, the cause of which is under investigation.

Mr Loud, who along with his brother in law escaped with cuts and bruises, said: "The devastation was just like a bomb had gone off.

"Carol and Julie took the impact from the explosion.

"Me and my brother-in-law were five yards in front and escaped pretty much unscathed.

"We could have all been killed. My sister-in-law was lying in the road with rubble all around her."

Mr Loud said the group were only about 15 feet away from the hotel when they heard a large bang.

He said: "It was 30 seconds of mayhem. Then the dust settled, then there was just rubble, bodies all over the place.

"Everybody ran towards us and tried to help. At the moment my sister-in-law is in a coma. She had brain surgery through Monday night and we are waiting to hear from the hospital.

"My wife has got severe lacerations to her legs and her arms, she's badly bruised and obviously she's all shook up."

"She's got about 20-odd stitches in her legs, but she's back at the hotel. She's in a wheelchair at the moment.

"Amazingly they allowed people back in within ten minutes of the explosion."

Mrs Gardener was initially taken to the nearby Costa del Sol Hospital but was later airlifted to the Carlos Haya Regional University Hospital in Malaga.

She has suffered a fractured skull, severe lacerations over her body and 30 per cent burns down one side of her body from the steam from the explosion but is said to be in a "comfortable" condition in hospital.

The family is due to return home to Britain this Friday but Mrs Gardener is expected to remain in the Costa del Sol until her condition improves.

They said the explosion had resulted in a big hole being ripped out of the wall, a water pipe being torn in half and bricks being catapulted across the road.

A Carlos Haya hospital spokeswoman said: "The woman was admitted to hospital in a very serious condition and was put on artificial ventilation.

"She is suffering from burns and is badly injured."