CHARGES have been dropped against a scuba-diver accused of causing the deaths of his girlfriend and close friend.

Stephen Martin, 55, from Rustington, near Littlehampton, was accused of involuntary homicide after Larissa Hooley and Nigel Haines died while scuba-diving with him off the coast of Malta. 

He was due to fight his extradition at a High Court hearing on Wednesday but today (Monday) his lawyers announced Maltese authorities had dropped both the extradition and the criminal charges. 

He said: “I am overwhelmed. This has been an utter nightmare for me, and I am just so relieved it is over.

“I feel I can finally start grieving for Larissa and Nigel, I just can’t keep back the tears.”

Mr Martin had been bail in the UK and under curfew since he was arrested on the European Arrest Warrant in July 2015. 

He was diving with his girlfriend of five years Larissa, 48, from Aylesbury, and seven friends including Mr Haines, 59, from Hove, at Gozo’s popular Blue Hole and Inland Sea, when tragedy struck on June 17, 2014.

Towards the end of the dive, Larissa suddenly started swimming deeper without warning.

Nigel Haines and fellow diver Jeremy Coster tried to rescue her but she died upon reaching the shore. 

Around the same time, Mr Haines got into difficulty on the surface and was pronounced dead after he was rescued from the water by boat.

An inquest held in Brighton found that both had died from acute pulmonary oedema and their deaths were accidental. 

The Maltese authorities accused Mr Martin of being negligent in his responsibilities and said he failed to check weather conditions, allegations he denied. 

Supporters of Mr Martin, including his MP, have been calling for the charges to be dropped and last week leaders of the British Sub-Acqua Club visited the Attorney General in Malta to that end.  

Speaking today, Mr Martin's solicitor in the UK, Edward Elwyn Jones of Hodge Jones and Allen Solicitors, said the charge was “bizarre” , adding: "This brings to an end a long and painful nightmare for Stephen.

“He should never have been accused in the first place."