David Ellis arrested for the murder of his missing Sawnsea landlord Alec Warburton

Police investigating the murder Alec Warburton from Swansea have arrested his former lodger in Ireland. David Ellis, 40, was detained on Friday, 18 September, by Garda officers in Ireland. South Wales Police are now working with the Irish authorities to arrange his extradition back to Swansea.

Welsh police have been trying to locate Ellis for more than a month, after the sudden disappearance of 59-year-old Warburton, according to Wales Online. While Warburton's body is yet to be found, police have previously said they were treating the case as murder.

A South Wales Police spokesman said: "David Ellis has been arrested in Ireland. We are liaising with the Garda in relation to his extradition back to the UK." Warburton, who lived in Sketty with Ellis, who was a lodger, was last seen on 31 July and was reported missing two days later.

Police launched an appeal for information on the missing landlord and said that his Peugeot 205 vehicle was spotted in north Wales before returning to Swansea. The vehicle was then found abandoned at Birkenhead port days later and officers said Ellis had stepped off a ferry in Belfast, Northern Ireland on 6 August.

That discovery of the car prompted a fresh appeal for information and saw Welsh officers sent across over to Ireland. South Wales Police said Warburton's family had been informed of the latest development in the investigation and continued to be assisted by family liaison officers.

Ellis is due to appear at the district court in Galway this morning.