Briton Robert Hathaway murdered in St Lucia

Robert Hathaway moved to St Lucia in 2001

A murder investigation is under way after a British man living on the Caribbean island of St Lucia was found dead at his home.

Marina owner and manager Robert Hathaway's body was found by a neighbour at about midday on Sunday.

Mr Hathaway, 66, was a director of a yacht building and repair company near Southampton earlier in his career.

A police spokesman in Gros Islet said investigators were awaiting the outcome of a post-mortem examination.

He said: "The body of a British national was found where he lived in Grand Riviere, Gros Islet. We are treating his death as a homicide."

Mr Hathaway founded the Marigot Sunshine marina in 2007 to cater for smaller sailing vessels and super yachts.

Keats Compton, president of the Marine Industries Association of Saint Lucia, said Mr Hathaway's death was a "big shock".

He said: "Apart from anything else, Bob was a pal of mine. He was on the executive committee of the association and he was an integral part of it."

Originally from the village of Codford St Peter in Wiltshire, Mr Hathaway had a career in local government before becoming the operations director of Victoria Yachts in Warsash, near Southampton, in the 1990s.

A spokeswoman for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said: "Our staff are supporting the family of a British man following his death in St Lucia, and are in contact with the St Lucian police."