THE grieving family of a Bournemouth dad killed when he was attacked in Spain can finally arrange a funeral nearly EIGHT years since he died.

Stephen Mallon was viciously attacked by an angry mob in an unprovoked attack outside a bar on the Costa del Sol in June 2009 and his body has lain in a Boscombe mortuary since October that year.

Today an inquest has concluded that Mr Mallon, 49, of Southbourne Overcliff Drive, was unlawfully killed and Dorset Coroner Rachael Griffin has announced that his body will be released within 14 days.

The announcement is a huge relief to Mr Mallon's widow, Teresa, and their three children, Jennifer, Peter and Carl who have been battling for justice ever since the brutal attack on Competa, near Malaga.

The Bournemouth inquest heard Mr Mallon, a roofing contractor, was staying at the family holiday home in Spain with twins Peter and Carl - who were just 16-years-old - in June 2009.

They and some friends went to a bar and were asked to leave when the owner decided to close the premises for the night.

On leaving they were attacked by a mob of around 30 Spaniards wielding weapons including iron bars, knuckle-dusters, bricks, stones, belts and bottles.

Mr Mallon ran up some steps during the altercation and was thrown from a balcony, falling around 13ft on to his head.

He suffered catastrophic brain injuries and died in hospital 11 days later.

In 2014 a total of 15 people were charged in connection with Mr Mallon's death and one, Jose Jiminez Martin, was convicted of manslaughter and jailed for three years.

Since then there have been a number of appeals which have caused further delay for Mr Mallon's family.

Daughter Jennifer told the inquest: "It was an unprovoked attack which took them by shock - they must have been completely terrified. It was so traumatic and it has been really hard to recover from."

After the inquest, Teresa Mallon released a statement which said: "It was Steve's wish that his body be cremated but we were repeatedly told that this could not happen until the Spanish criminal process had finished.

"The seven years from June 2009 were full of pain. We have been unable to grieve and unable to even begin to move forward in coping with the trauma of Steve's killing and the massive emotional loss that we have suffered."