The mother of west Belfast man John George said her son became addicted to drugs after he went to prison as a teenager which led him into more criminality. The 37-year-old father, who was on holiday in Spain, was last in touch with his family on 14 December.

The family of a west Belfast man feared murdered in Spain say they are returning home on Friday “broken” and expressed frustration over the investigation into his death. A body discovered near the town of Rojales in Alicante on Tuesday has been formally identified as that of 37-year-old John George.

The search for John George, a 37-year-old father-of-two from Belfast, has ended in tragedy with the discovery of his body in Spain. Known to his friends and family as John Hardy, George had been missing since December after failing to return from a trip to Algeciras,

Belfast Telegraph's Allison Morris reports.

Police in Spain have been given another 72 hours to question a 32-year-old man they arrested earlier this week.

John George left Belfast to travel to Alicante to meet friends just before Christmas but never showed up at the airport for his return flight home on December 14

John George went missing in Spain on 21 December, and his body was discovered in remote farmland earlier this week.

Dad-of-two John George went missing while in Spain just before Christmas. Also known as John Hardy, the west Belfast man did not board his return flight to Belfast from Alicante airport on December 18 as intended.