A British man from Essex has pleaded guilty to causing the death of his two-year-old son who fell from a hotel window in Cyprus. Joshua Foster admitted the charge of causing death through a reckless, rash or dangerous act at a court in Paphos on Tuesday.

The tragic incident occurred on 12 July at the King Evelthon Beach Hotel and Resort in Chlorakas, where the boy fell from the fourth floor. Foster was reportedly holding his son around the waist and swinging him from side to side when the child fell through an open window.

A further hearing is scheduled for 5 October, when the prosecution will present the facts of the case and the defence will offer mitigating circumstances. A court official confirmed the details of the upcoming proceedings. The maximum sentence for the charge Foster admitted is four years imprisonment.

Foster was permitted to return to the UK for his son's funeral on the condition that he flew back to Cyprus for the plea hearing. His lawyer, Alexandros Alexandrou, stated that Foster's primary concern is to reunite with his wife and daughter, and he intends to ask the court to lift travel restrictions.

According to his lawyer, Foster chose to plead guilty to spare his family from enduring a lengthy trial and reliving the traumatic event. Alexandrou described the incident as a "momentary lapse of attention, without any intention to cause harm, which had the most devastating and unimaginable consequences."

The lawyer emphasized that the most important thing for Foster is to return to his family. He also indicated that the defence would present mitigating evidence and circumstances for the court's consideration during sentencing.

Alexandrou added that the family has been experiencing "unimaginable grief" since the "horrific events" and has requested privacy during this difficult period.

Foster's lawyer suggested that the court should consider previous cases where similar charges resulted in fines or suspended sentences, rather than imprisonment, given the circumstances.