Kirsty Maxwell TV documentary aims to provide answers over her tragic death

Kirsty Maxwell with her husband Adam Maxwell, as her family have said they are still trying to come to terms with the loss of their "beautiful girl". Picture; PA

The programme will follow ex-DCI David Swindle as he tries to piece together what happened in the moments leading up to Kirsty plunging from a Benidorm hotel balcony.

Family and friends of Kirsty, from Livingston, have been interviewed after being “abandoned” by authorities in their tireless pursuit of answers.

“Over a year has passed since Kirsty died and the answers are still out there. There are still potential witnesses in Benidorm,” said Mr Swindle.

Kirsty, 27, arrived in Benidorm for her friend’s hen party last April. Returning home from their first night out all the women fell asleep but Kirsty awoke and left her room.

She ended up on the tenth floor in a room full of strangers – five men from Nottingham. She fell from the window of that room – the men denied all responsibility for her death.

Kirsty’s family drafted in Mr Swindle as an independent reviewer of the case – drawing on his 34 years as a top detective including bringing notorious serial killer Peter Tobin to justice.

Mr Swindle has recruited a small unit of Spanish speaking investigators to help him trawl for potential clues.

“Social media has played a huge part in getting to where we are now and I have a team of multilingual experts supporting me,” he said.

“Families like Kirsty’s should get this automatically – if it wasn’t for their determination, she’d just be another statistic.”

Mr Swindle hopes tonight’s “heart-wrenching” programme will help jog the memory of someone in Benidorm at the time and help unlock the mystery.

“I’m encouraging people to come forward with anything they might think is relevant,” he urged. Any reaction to the broadcast deemed crucial to the case will be forwarded straight to the Spanish prosecutor.

Mr Swindle also slammed British authorities for leaving the Maxwell family to fight on alone.

“They’ve been abandoned by governments. It’s shocking. There’s no family support for them, they’ve got to finance this themselves – in Kirsty’s case by crowdfunding. Other families don’t have those opportunities or their determination.”

SNP MP for Livingston, Hannah Bardell, also called on the UK government to “radically improve” the support it provides for the families of those who die abroad.

Of Kirsty’s friends and family, Mr Swindle said: “Until something like that happens to yourself, you can’t understand what they’re having to go through.

“You’ll see they’re determined individuals but the worst thing that can happen in their lives has happened.”

Killed Abroad is screened tonight on BBC One Scotland from 9-10pm. Anyone with information can contact the dedicated Kirsty Maxwell hotline on +44 (0)7376 040519 or email [email protected]