A MAN HAS reportedly stabbed and beheaded a British woman in a shop in the Spanish resort of Tenerife and then paraded her head through the streets. A homeless Bulgarian man is said to be in custody.

Witnesses told The Times newspaper (subscription) how they watched in horror as a man decapitated a woman in a shop and then carried her bleeding head through the streets.

The 62-year-old victim is reported to have been working in the low cost store in the town of Los Cristianos on the Canary Islands resort of Tenerife.

She was said to be of Chinese origin but local police say she was a British national.

Tenerife Magazine has posted this eyewitness account:

BBC reports that a homeless Bulgarian man is in custody and that the man appeared to choose his victim at random. He had a police record according to local officials.

He was reportedly discharged from a local hospital in February where he had been receiving treatment for violent behaviour.

He is said to have entered the shop, stolen a knife and then attacked the woman stabbing her several times before beheading her.

The Telegraph has published pictures of security guards chasing a man and throwing him to the floor before overpowering him.

A spokesperson for the British Foreign Office said they were “urgently investigating” the reports.

The Irish Department of Foreign Affairs said it would not comment specifically on this incident but said that its normal advice for tourists visiting Spain to be aware of their personal security applied particularly in light of this occurrence.