Firecrackers blamed for death of distressed dog on the Costa that leapt from balcony over the festive holidays

Noa was a 13-year-old Labrador mix that lived in a flat in the centre of Nerja, on the eastern strip of the Costa del Sol, for the past two years, after having previously living on a local farm. Silvia Urbano's parents adopted her when she was just a puppy, along with another dog, who died less than two years ago. They took them both in when they were running a café in the town, where they arrived looking for food.

Although she had her ailments, Noa was healthy, "but it was hard for her to even get into bed or onto the sofa," said a visibly affected Silvia, 32, describing "the desperation" the animal must have felt when last Friday Noa jumped from the balcony of the family home, located on the first floor, to her death on Plaza de La Marina. This happened, Silvia said, as a result of the "unbearable noise" of firecrackers that were being thrown under the balcony by a group of people. The owners were out at the time.

"From what we have been told by other nI'll add te picseighbours, they started throwing the bangers at 4pm and the dog must have jumped at around 6.30pm," said Urbano, who works with her parents in a takeaway food business in the Chaparil area. "The dog was scurrying all over the house, we discovered that she had scratched walls and that she tried to hide in a shower tray, the desperation must have been tremendous for her to jump over the balcony," said the owner.

Urbano pointed out that they left the balcony door open for her "because she had got used to doing her 'business' there, but if we had known that they were throwing so many bangers that afternoon we would have quickly gone quickly to pick her up", she added. "It wasn't Christmas Eve or New Year's Eve, it was a Friday," she said.

"A neighbour who saw her on the ground was with her when she was still alive, but when we arrived she had already died," Urbano said. "We are all having a terrible time, we have lost three dogs in less than two years," said the owner, who has appealed to people "not to throw fireworks at any time and in any place”.

"We would like Nerja town hall to take action and prohibit the throwing of bangers at Christmas and other fiestas," said Noa's owner, who said they have not lodged a formal complaint with the Guardia Civil "because we don't know for sure who they were, although we suspect some people".

"Please educate children not to throw bangers. Also teach them to take responsibility for their actions. Because the children who were throwing firecrackers, when they saw that the dog had jumped off the balcony, all they did was run away," Noa's owner said.

Torremolinos town hall, on the western strip of the Costa del Sol has banned the unauthorised use of fireworks "to protect the vulnerable population and pets". Non-compliance can lead to financial fines, as well as the seizure of the material involved in the offence.