British man killed in Costa del Sol after shootout with Spanish police

Thirty-nine-year-old from Leeds had history of drug trafficking and weapons possession, police say

Police traced the man to a hotel (Getty/iStock)

An armed British man has been killed by Spanish police officers in the Costa del Sol after he began shooting at them, officials said.

Sean Hercules was initially seen fleeing the scene of a car accident with a weapon. Witnesses said Mr Hercules had left the site of the crash, near Puerto Banus, on Monday morning.

Police then traced him to a hotel in the resort town of Estepona near Malaga.

Officers confronted Mr Hercules and he opened fire on them, police said.

A shoot-out followed and the 39-year-old, originally from Leeds, was killed, according to Spanish national police.

Two firearms and four cartridges were found with his body.

The police statement said Mr Hercules had a history of drug trafficking and weapons possession.

He was a convicted robber who shot a man with a double-barrelled shotgun in Leeds city centre in 2005, weeks after being released early from prison, according to the Yorkshire Post.

The attack, which was compared to the "Wild West" by the presiding judge, left the victim with more than 250 gunshot pellets in his body, the report added.

A judicial investigation has been ordered into the shooting, Spanish police said.

"Our staff are in contact with the family of a British man following his death in Spain and have offered them support and advice on bereavement abroad," a spokesperson from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said.

Agencies contributed to this report