Twitter 'troll' who abused missing UK toddler Madeleine's parents is found dead

A British woman accused by a television station of being an online "troll" who directed Twitter abuse at the parents of missing girl Madeleine McCann has been found dead, press reports said.

Brenda Leyland, 63, was confronted by a Sky News reporter who accused her of being in a group of "trolls" who had abused the McCanns, whose daughter has been missing since 2007.

Reporter Martin Brunt asked: "Why are you using your Twitter account to attack the McCanns?" Leyland had replied: "I'm entitled to do that."

Told that her activities had been reported to police, Leyland replied: "That's fair enough." The filmed encounter was aired on British television on Wednesday.

The BBC reported on Sunday that Leyland had been found dead in a hotel in Leicester, in the East Midlands, on Saturday. Police said officers were called "to reports of a body of a woman in a hotel room".

"Identification of the deceased is a matter for the coroner. The death is not being treated as suspicious," a spokesman said.