A FORMER Lymington businessman and his wife have been found shot dead at the luxury villa they shared on Spain’s Costa Blanca.

Police investigating the double tragedy believe David Rouse, 70, shot his wife Heather, 58, as she slept before turning the gun on himself.

Officers say they are baffled by the shootings although Mr Rouse is understood to have been suffering from depression following a series of strokes.

A neighbour alerted the police after calling at their £800,000 villa in San Fulgencio, near Alicante, and getting no response.

The couple were both married to their previous partners when they stunned the genteel town of Lymington by running away together in 1979.

Mr Rouse, who is said to have been a millionaire, ran an electrical shop in St Thomas’s Street.

He was chairman of the carnival committee and Heather was the group’s secretary but they were both sacked after deserting their spouses and disappearing.

Mr Rouse, who vanished after leaving his wife Jean a note at their Hordle home, was replaced as chairman by his brother-in-law, plumber David Hoar.

Last night Mr Hoar, who still lives in the Lymington area, refused to discuss the tragedy.

Mr and Mrs Rouse are believed to have lived in New Milton before moving to San Fulgencio eight years ago and buying a five-bedroom villa with a 43ft swimming pool.

Police found their bodies on Sunday evening and believe the shootings took place a few hours earlier.

A police spokesman said: “Mr Rouse seems to have planned the crime meticulously.

“He left documents out identifying himself, plus food and water for their pets.

“Officers found both bodies in the bedroom. Mrs Rouse had been shot in the head with a shotgun.”

A spokeswoman for the paramilitary Civil Guard said: “All the indications are that the husband shot his wife and then used the weapon to kill himself. We are not looking for anyone else.”

Mrs Rouse’s sister, who has not been named, arrived yesterday on a planned visit from the UK – only to be told the terrible news.

The mayoress of San Fulgencio, Trinidad Martinez, is reported to have said: “It is a terrible tragedy that has shaken up the town.

“They were a very well-liked couple who were popular with neighbours and had lived in the town for eight years without any trouble.

“The husband had suffered from a series of strokes and may have been suffering from depression. However, he had seemed in better health recently.”

Mrs Rouse was previously married to Barry Papworth, who also served on Lymington’s carnival committee. His jewellery shop was in the same street as Mr Rouse’s store and still bears his name.