ONE of Lancashire’s former top detectives was staying in the resort where a British woman was decapitated, it has emerged.

Former Detective Superintendent Mick Gradwell arrived in Tenerife for a holiday with his wife on the day that Jennifer Mills-Westley was stabbed and beheaded at a supermarket in Los Cristianos.

Mr Gradwell, who recently retired after 30 years’ service, checked into his apartment last Friday, May 13.

But just five minutes down the road, the grandmother of five was slaughtered and her head carried across the quiet shopping street by her attacker.

Bulgarian national Deyan Valentinov Deyanov, 28, is now being held at a psychiatric unit in Tenerife on suspicion of her murder.

Mr Gradwell said he was taking his first holiday with his wife in 21 years.

He said: “We booked into an apartment about 1km away. It is usually a quiet place. The locals were very shocked.

“Talking with the locals, they said there is no free mental health care for immigrants and they wondered if that was a factor.

“Over the week it looked like there was an increase in police patrols, but the actual scene was released very quickly.

“The shop reopened and things were back to normal very quickly.

“The authorities appear to have acted quickly to avoid disruption to tourism.”

Mr Gradwell worked on many high-profile murders during his career as a detective with the Lancashire Constabulary.

He was involved in the investigation into the killing of Sophie Lancaster in a Bacup park and the murder of Caneze Riaz and her four daughters in Accrington.