UK police criticised over Costa killings

Tony King was formerly known as 'Holloway Strangler' Tony Bromwich

Murders on the Costa Del Sol might have been prevented if British law enforcement agencies had acted faster - according to a former Chief Constable.

The claim comes from Keith Hellawell on BBC One's Real Story investigation into Tony Bromwich, who is in a Spanish jail after allegedly confessing to the murders of 17-year-old Sonia Carbantes last month and Rocio Wanninkhof, 19, in 1999.

Bromwich, who changed his name to Tony King, was wanted for questioning by police in connection with an attempted rape in Surrey in 1997. But he fled to Spain - and police and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) here felt there was insufficient evidence to extradite him.

"Here you've got the police with knowledge about a serious offender," said Mr. Hellawell, " yet he was on the loose with a new identity and in a new country and apparently very little was done."

Why was he allowed out of Britain in the first place? Cecilia, Tony King's ex-wife

British detectives passed on information about Bromwich to Spanish police but Mr. Hellawell, former Chief Constable of West Yorkshire, who has been studying the case, believes they should have acted on this.

"It is my belief that had the police from Surrey gone to see him or had the Spanish police seen him, he would have confessed to this offence.

"The CPS and the Spanish authorities would then have been happy to bring him back to this country to stand trial and that may well have saved lives."

Bromwich's ex-wife, Cecilia, who lived with him in Spain, told the programme: "The question is why was he allowed out of Britain in the first place?"

Surrey Police said that in its view there was no possibility of extradition because of insufficient evidence but information had been passed on to the Spanish Police.

The new series of Real Story with Fiona Bruce begins on BBC One on Monday 20 October 2003 at 1930 .