Moroccan man arrested after former British Olympic diver and wife were found shot dead in their Spanish villa with their bodies hidden under a green raincoat 

A Moroccan man suspected of shooting dead a British former Olympic diver and his wife at their home in Spain has been arrested.

David Tarsey and his wife Jean, both 77, were found in each other's arms on their sofa after each was killed with a single bullet to the head.

The killer then covered their bodies with a green raincoat and fled.

David Tarsey and his wife Jean, both 77, were found in each other's arms on their sofa after each was killed with a single bullet to the head on March 29. A man has now been arrested

A man was arrested on Thursday morning over the double murder in March.

The couple's son Alexei, a 48-year-old chef, today said: 'We've just been told by the police that they have made an arrest but they haven't told us anything else.'

Police are understood to have recovered a gun from the suspect's home. He has not been charged with any offence but is expected to appear in court at a behind-closed-doors hearing over the weekend.

The Tarseys were found dead at 4.15pm on March 29 at their house in Xalo, near Benidorm on the Costa Blanca. Police said they had been dead for several days.

The couple's dog Domino was barking when two friends arrived at the detached country home and made the gruesome discovery.

A source on the investigation said the suspect was arrested in a caravan, where the gun was found.

The identify of the man arrested is unknown but a family friend said Mr Tarsey had befriended a Moroccan man who lived nearby in a caravan not long before the couple were murdered. However, the friend said it would be a surprise if he was a suspect. 

Mr Tarsey stood up for the man when a local bar owner refused to serve him because he was from north Africa, the friend said.

The Tarseys were found dead at 4.15pm at their house in Xalo, near Benidorm on the Costa Blanca

Police were alerted when friends went round to the house for their regular Sunday dinner and discovered their bodies

The friend added: 'The bar owner tried to throw the guy out but David insisted he be allowed to stay. He bought the Moroccan guy a beer and insisted the bar owner serve him.

'Later the man went to the Tarseys' house and David paid him to do some work in the garden.' 

Mr Tarsey, who used his middle name rather than his first name Peter, met his wife when they were 13 at a diving club and they became childhood sweethearts before marrying in 1960.

The former engineer competed in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, coming 16th in the springboard and 14th in the platform event.

He also took part in the 1954 and 1958 Commonwealth Games.

The day they were found the Tarseys were due to meet friends Ann and Eduardo Juan for Sunday lunch. The couple raised the alarm after going to the house when David and Jean failed to show up.

Mr Tarsey had been shot with a pistol in the back of the neck while Mrs Tarsey was shot in the face.

Mr Tarsey competed in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, coming 16th in the springboard and 14th in the platform event

The couple, pictured together the day before they married in February 1960, met at a local diving club

Their killer then threw the couple's computer in the swimming pool, possibly out of fear it contained images captured on the Tarseys' webcam.

Speaking before news of the arrest broke, Alexei said: 'I can't think of anyone that would have done it that I know of or any reason why it would have been done.

'They didn't have any enemies I knew of. I know my dad had a few arguments with a local shepherd guy who used to bring his goats and sheep across their land and drove my dad nuts. I know he had a go at him sometimes.

'But I don't think to the extent someone would have gone in and done that.

'I just think the whole village is thinking who did it? My parents had been living in the village for about 20 years and before that they were near Denia for about 10 years.

'They were popular in the village. My mother did volunteer work at a local charity. We're a perfectly respectable family.'

The Tarseys, originally from west London, bought their three-bedroom Spanish home in 1990.

They had put it on the market for 230,000 euros (£180,000) last year, hoping to move to Majorca to be closer to their son Sascha, who lives there with his Spanish wife.

A spokesman for the Civil Guard police force would not immediately comment on the arrest.