Briton beheaded in holiday horror

Her family paid tribute to her and said they were devastated by her death.

Her daughter Sarah said: “Mum retired a number of years ago and was fully enjoying her retirement travelling between Tenerife and France where she spent time visiting her daughter and grandchildren, and her other daughter in Norfolk.

“She was full of life, generous of heart, would do anything for anyone.

“We now have to find a way of living without her love and light and we would ask at this difficult time for some privacy as we try to come to terms with our loss.”

The suspect, a homeless Bulgarian man with a police record identified as Deyan Valentinov, was captured by security guards after he ran out of the supermarket yesterday with the blood-soaked head in his hands. He was then arrested.

Canary Islands police said in a statement: “The attack culminated with the decapitation of the victim. The attacker left the store with the head in his hand and then threw it to the pavement.”

Witness Colin Kirby said: “There were people shouting. There was a Hispanic-looking guy walking behind me, looking very scruffy, muttering to himself, carrying what I thought was a joke head by the hair.

“The blood – it just made me think Clash of the Titans. I thought, ‘The guy’s a nutter, it’s a joke.’”

He added: “The security guards came out, they chased him across the road. By this time he was empty-handed. They got him on the other side of the road, just by the cultural centre. A couple of people tried to get him, they flattened him, got him on the ground.”

The Foreign Office confirmed the woman was a UK national, saying “we are now seeking further information”. Tenerife is a popular tourist destination with more than 1.3 million Britons visiting each year.

Regional Interior Ministry delegate Dominica Fernandez said the suspect was believed to have entered the shop and stolen a knife which he then used to attack the woman, whose identity had yet to be released last night.

The attack appeared to be random although the man is thought to be well known in the area. It took place shortly after 10am in the southern town of Arona, near the beach resort of Los Cristianos.

Regional newspaper La Opinion reported the suspect had received treatment at the psychiatric unit of a local hospital in February.