A woman accused of writing hate messages about the McCann family on Twitter has been found dead in a hotel room in Leicester.

Brenda Leyland, 63, was confronted by a Sky News reporter outside her home in Burton Overy, Leicestershire on Thursday last week.

She was one of a number of people reported to have trolled the family of Madeleine McCann who went missing on a family holiday in Portugal in 2007.

Using the Twitter account '@Sweepyface', which has since been deleted, Leyland made offensive remarks such as: "'#McCann Q: How long must the McCanns suffer' answer 'for the rest of their miserable lives'."

When Leyland was asked about the abusive things she had written about Kate and Gerry McCann she said: "I'm entitled to do that."

A neighbour told the Times that Leyland was a regular churchgoer.

Leicestershire police told the BBC that police had been called to a hotel in Leicester on Saturday afternoon.

"Officers have attended the scene and a file is being prepared for the coroner. The death is not being treated as suspicious," the police spokesperson said.

Sky released a statement saying: "We were saddened to hear of the death of Brenda Leyland. It would be inappropriate to speculate or comment further at this time."