British tramp, 51, found dead in Spain with ham on his buttocks and his genitals in a tuna can 'was killed by a fellow vagrant in a row over food' 

  • Steven Allford was found dead on bench near Malaga airport on October 21
  • Finnish man arrested on suspicion of manslaughter as probe continues
  • Now believed Mr Allford may have had a row over food with other vagrants
  • Police also investigating possibility it was a hate crime based on victimisation of vagrants, though a source said this did not make sense 

By Gerard Couzens In Spain and Rebecca Taylor For Mailonline

Published: 03:55 EST, 30 October 2016 | Updated: 11:10 EST, 30 October 2016

The British tramp found dead with ham on his naked buttocks and his genitals in a tuna can may have been targeted following a row over food, investigators now believe.

Steven Allford was found face down and bound to a bench near Malaga airport on October 21.

A specialist prosecutor had agreed to investigate the bizarre case after a homeless group said it could be a hate crime based on victimisation of vagrants.

But the arrest of a giant Finnish vagrant on suspicion of Mr Allford's manslaughter has led to new clues which investigators are pursuing in the hope of unraveling the bizarre end to his life.

Police are waiting on the results of a post-mortem but suspect he may have been choked to death as Spanish police carry his body away

Steven Allford, 51, was discovered bound to a bench in a landscaped area by an airport train stop with his trousers and pants pulled down

Acquaintances of the 51-year-old Brit, who slept rough at Malaga Airport where he was found tied to a bench, have told police he made several enemies by refusing to share meals with other vagrants but expecting their food when it came their way.

Investigators believe the ham and tuna may have been a crude message left by those he had upset.

He had his trousers pulled down, a slice of ham on each of his exposed bottom cheeks and his genitals inside the empty tuna can when he was found face-down on a bench early on October 21 near the main Malaga Airport terminal and a train stop well-used by tourists.

His hand and a leg had been tied to opposite ends of the bench.

Murder squad detectives are probing the mysterious death of a British man at Malaga Airport

A Finnish national aged around 50 and described as a 'well-built giant' was arrested last Wednesday on suspicion of manslaughter and remanded in custody pending an ongoing judicial probe following a private court hearing.

Further arrests have not been ruled out.

A post-mortem showed tragic Mr Allford, who had done prison time in Spain for fraud, had probably choked to death on his own vomit after a heavy drinking session.

Further tissue tests are yet to take place.

A source close to the case said: 'The judicial investigation is ongoing and several theories are still on the table, including the suggestion the food and ties were put on him while he was sleeping off a hangover as part of a sick joke.

'But the idea that he was targeted as part of a hate crime because he was a vagrant makes no sense when you discover the suspect was also sleeping rough.

'The man who is being held in custody has denied any involvement in Mr Allford's death or the desecration of his body.

'But acquaintances of the pair have told investigators the dead man had had fallouts with other vagrants because he expected to share their food but wouldn't reciprocate when he had something to eat.'

They were today seeking to establish what he was doing at the airport and whether he had missed a flight home or was sleeping rough

Another insider added: 'The authorities believe there was a message behind the food that was left on him which was: "Stick the ham up your a*** and the tuna in your gonads."

'Potentially it was the last meal he had tried to eat himself while others he slept rough with went hungry.

'The courts will seek to establish whether Mr Allford was tied to the bench before or after he died but there is suspicion at this stage the binds contributed to his death even if there was never any intention to end his life.' 

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