Spain's king pelted with mud by Valencia residents during visit to flood-hit area

Spain’s king and queen came under attack from furious residents who threw mud at him as he visited the flood-hit Valencia region. King Felipe VI also faced taunts of “murderer” and “shame” from the crowd after questions were raised over government failures when torrential rains caused flash floods that killed more than 200 people.

It was reported that the vehicle of either the monarch or another senior official had its windows smashed by demonstrators. There has been widespread anger at the lack of warning and a failure in support from the authorities after a year's worth of rain fell in a day last Tuesday.

King Felipe and Queen Letizia were in Paiporta, a town that has been severely affected and where more than 60 people were killed, when they were surrounded by angry residents. Police on horseback intervened to push back the crowd of up to 100 people.

Footage showed the monarch making his way down a pedestrian street before his bodyguards and police were suddenly overwhelmed by a surge of protesters hurling insults and screaming. They struggled to maintain a protective ring around the monarch, as some of the protesters threw mud and objects.

However, the king managed to speak to a number of them and even embraced a man before he was ushered away. The government has come under criticism for a slow response in searching for survivors and clearing widespread damage from the disaster, in which more than 400 people may have been killed.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has ordered 10,000 more troops, police officers and civil guards into the area, the largest deployment in Spain during peacetime. Mr Sanchez said he was aware that the response was "not enough" and acknowledged "severe problems and shortages".

Scientists have said that extreme weather events are becoming more frequent in Europe due to climate change. The tragedy is already Europe's worst flooding-related disaster in a single country since 1967 when at least 500 people died in Portugal.