Two Albanian immigrants have been charged with the murder of a British couple on the Greek island of Keffalonia.

The men were arrested two days after a neighbour found the bodies of Roy Eccles, a 55-year-old retired electrical engineer and his wife Judith, 49, a retired accountant from Eaton Ford in Bedfordshire.

Detectives said the Albanians had admitted stabbing the couple then ransacking their villa in the hill village of Kaminarata in the hope of finding cash.

The couple had just retired and used their life savings to buy the house, where they had planned to stay permanently.

Police named their alleged killers as Edward Elmazi, 20, and his accomplice Lambro Pappa, 26.

They said that cash and the couple's credit cards had been found in the men's possession.

Blood stains found on their clothing had also been sent away for DNA testing in Athens.

A police source said that in a confession one of the two men claimed that they had never intended to kill the couple and carried a knife only to prise open the patio door. But the window broke, waking the couple.

The same two men had been questioned about a robbery on Keffalonia more than two months ago, but police had released them because of lack of evidence.

The Eccles's car was found abandoned about 15 miles east of Kaminarata, in the port of Sami.

The two suspects were arrested on the neighbouring island of Lefkas after a brief chase.
 

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