A doctor thought to have embezzled £400,000 of NHS cash before fleeing the UK has been found dead with his partner in an apparent murder-suicide.

Titus Bradley, 42, left Hastings a year ago shortly before a large quantity of money was found to be missing from the accounts of four GP practices he ran.

His body was found with that of his Hungarian girlfriend in the Divin' Art guest house in Cape Verde on 15 April.

Sussex Police confirmed it had been investigating the theft of NHS funds.

In a statement, the force said it was contacted by NHS Hastings and Rother Clinical Commissioning Group in May last year about "the possible inappropriate use of funds at the Cornwallis Plaza surgery".

A subsequent investigation had established a substantial sum of money had been taken.

The force said inquiries had been made to trace two former employees at the group in connection with its investigation.

It confirmed receiving reports the couple have been found dead "but await formal confirmation of this from the Portuguese authorities via the Foreign and Commonwealth Office".

The bodies of Dr Bradley and Noemi Gairgay, 28, were found two days after they had checked in to the guest house on the island of Santo Antao, off the west coast of Africa.

Dr Bradley, who is originally from the Llanelli area in Wales, is believed to have shot his girlfriend before taking his own life.

Helder Bentub, co-manager of the guest house, told BBC South East it was understood the couple had been arguing in the restaurant and their room.

"Three minutes later, clack clack with the gun and I called the police.

"The police go in the room and see the two people dead in the toilet," he said.

A Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokesperson said: "Our staff are assisting the family of a British man following his death in Cape Verde and are in contact with the local authorities."