The mother of west Belfast man John George said her son became addicted to drugs after he went to prison as a teenager which led him into more criminality. The 37-year-old father, who was on holiday in Spain,

The family of a west Belfast man feared murdered in Spain say they are returning home on Friday “broken” and expressed frustration over the investigation into his death. A body discovered near the town of Rojales in Alicante on Tuesday has been formally identified as that of 37-year-old John George.

The search for John George, a 37-year-old father-of-two from Belfast, has ended in tragedy with the discovery of his body in Spain. Known to his friends and family as John Hardy, George had been missing since December after failing to return from a trip to Algeciras,

John George went missing in Spain on 21 December, and his body was discovered in remote farmland earlier this week.

A solicitor representing the family of John George has said that a murder investigation into his death could ‘extend beyond one person’ after the Belfast man’s body was discovered in Spain on Tuesday and a 32-year-old was arrested.