British couple are found dead in their apartment in Cyprus after 'breathing in gas pumped out by faulty heater'

A British couple have been found dead in their Cyprus apartment from suspected gas poisoning from a faulty heater.

Ken Lincoln, 59, and his wife Linda, 56, were discovered in their living room in the town of Paralimni on Tuesday.

Police were alerted after Mrs Lincoln failed to show up for work at a nearby school and did not answer her phone.

After gaining entry to the flat, officers noticed an intense smell of gas which led them to believe the couple were killed by a leak.

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Double tragedy: Linda Lincoln (pictured) and her husband Ken are believed to have been killed by gas poisoning from a faulty heater at their apartment on Cyprus. Police were alerted after Mrs Lincoln failed to show up for her job at a nearby school on Tuesday and did not answer her phone

The Lincolns are thought to have used the gas heater on Monday night just hours before they were found dead.

Police have launched an investigation into the tragedy. 

State pathologist Sofoclis Sophocleous carried out a post mortem examination on the two victims on Wednesday morning at Nicosia general hospital.

But further forensic tests are to be carried out in a bid to establish the exact cause of death.

Famagusta police spokesman George Economou ruled out foul play and said the gas heater was being examined by experts.

Police have not confirmed what kind of heater it was.   

The couple are thought to have lived on Cyprus for several years.

Mrs Lincoln worked as an administrator at the local Xenion private school and Mr Lincoln is understood to have worked as a construction worker.

They were permanent residents in the Famagusta area of Cyprus but had strong links with the Wymondham area of Norfolk near Norwich.

Mrs Lincoln's Facebook page says she studied at West Anglia College, King's Lynn. 

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'A very special person and valuable member of staff': Mrs Lincoln worked as an administrator at the Xenion private school (above) for more than nine years. The school plans to hold a memorial service on Monday

Katelitsa Phylactou, director of Xenion School where Mrs Lincoln had worked more than nine years, said they would stage a memorial service for them on Monday.

Mrs Phylactou paid an emotional tribute to 'a valuable member of staff'.

She said: 'Many of Linda's friends will be here and all of the school will attend.

'Linda was a very special person and a valuable member of staff.

'She has been working here for nine years so it's the least we can do for her. Linda will be greatly missed.'

A tribute was also posted on the school's Facebook page, where dozens of people left messages of support for the couple's family and friends. 

A Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokesman said it was supporting the couple's family and would stay in touch with local authorities.

Famagusta, on the south east coast of Cyprus, has been a top resort for years after becoming a focus of violence between the island's warring Greek and Turkish communities in the 1960s and 70s.

The island itself has long attracted expatriates as well as visitors.

At least 43,000 Britons live on the island, while a further 3,000 British servicemen are based in Cyprus at sites retained after the island gained independence in 1960.

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