THE British man who died at a luxury Estepona urbanization on Monday has been named as Carl Barton.

The Olive Press spoke to the 30-year-old’s father Dudley, who confirmed his son was born in the UK, although he had Irish links.

The grieving father, living in Manchester with his wife Sharon, paid tribute to his son, who is originally from Maidstone, and worked as an electrician in the UK and Spain.

“Carl was a lovely lad,” he said, “He had been in Spain for five or six months and was trapped by the pandemic.”

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LIFE OF LUXURY: The exclusive leafy enclave where Carl died ©theOlivePress

Carl died on Monday after a fall outside a house in Estepona’s El Paraiso area, where the British homeowner was subsequently arrested on charges of ‘reckless homicide’.

Police took a statement from the homeowner who was ‘released today on charges’, according to Diario Sur.

The paper reported that the man is awaiting a court date, but did not say what his charges were.

Dudley added that Carl, who previously lived in Manchester, ‘worked on and off for neighbours’ including the owners of the property where he died, and where he had fitted CCTV.

“Maybe Carl was looking for help from the neighbours,” Dudley said.

Carl’s sister Grace also paid tribute to him, speaking to the Olive Press from Sligo in Ireland.

She said: “He’s a really nice brother, he taught me so much, he’d bought me a piano.

“It was the last thing he ever got me.

“He was my best friend and I was in touch with him every day before he died.

“We were talking about music on WhatsApp the day before.”

Grace added that her mum ‘loved Carl’, but was ‘too distraught’ to talk.

Diario Sur reported that Carl was filmed on the same CCTV he installed ‘crawling around’ on Monday night.

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MYSTERY: A sleeping bag, dressing gown and water bottle outside the luxury villa yesterday ©theOlivePress

At 22:40pm neighbours reported that Carl ‘was injured’, but paramedics and police who arrived on the scene could not save him.

Diario Sur also cited a ‘forensic expert’ source who said Carl had taken a ‘cocktail of narcotics’, although the final report into his death is yet to be released.

Dudley said he had not heard anything from the police and that he was ‘speaking to the British Consul’ for assistance.

Yesterday the Olive Press spoke to the wife of the British expat at the property where he was arrested.

She said: “The Irish guy was running over our roof and was jumping in the swimming pool without a shirt on.

“He’d taken drugs.”

A Policia Nacional spokesperson in Malaga said there had been ‘an altercation’ between Carl  and the British homeowner and that the ‘investigation was ongoing’.

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