Tunisia attack: Missing Wiltshire couple 'among dead'

The couple had been going to Tunisia twice a year for the last eight years

A British couple officially classed as missing following the Tunisian beach attack are among the dead, a family member has confirmed.

Eileen Swannack, 73, and her partner John Welch, 74, both from Wiltshire, had not made contact since the shootings near Sousse on Friday.

Ms Swannack's granddaughter Lucie described her as a "loving, wonderful woman" in a message on Facebook.

"I'm heartbroken she's been taken from us in such a cruel way," she wrote.

Police said relatives of Ms Swannack, of Biddestone, and Mr Welch, of Corsham, were getting family liaison officer support.

The couple had been travelling to Tunisia twice a year for the last eight years. They had been together for almost a decade.

Kevin Ford, who knew Mr Welch since they were teenagers, told the BBC: "It's just a sad, sad world when a person as good and tolerant as John is mown down in this way."

In a statement the Reverend Jonathan Philpott, of St Nicholas' Church in Biddestone, said the village community had been "shocked and saddened" to hear that the couple were victims of the attack.

He said the national minute's silence for the victims on Friday would be marked in the church and a book of condolence would be made available from Wednesday.

Twenty-two Britons have been identified as victims, with eight more believed to be among the dead, Downing Street has said.

The repatriation process is expected to take days and will be followed by a joint inquest into the deaths of all the British victims.

Tunisian authorities have arrested several people on suspicion of helping 23-year-old gunman Seifeddine Rezgui, who had links to the jihadist group Islamic State. He was shot dead by police.