The 20-year-old suspect was arrested, in the dead man’s car, during a routine traffic check when he was found to be driving without a licence.

According to the police source, the suspect told authorities he had killed the British man at his home “after a dispute”.

The body of the victim, whose identity has not yet been released, was subsequently found at his house in Alcoutim, near the Spanish border.

The victim was killed by “a knife or a spear,” police said.

According to local media, the suspect was already known to police over a series of robberies.

The dead man had lived for around 10 years in the sparsely-populated, hilly Alcoutim region.