British millionaire behind bars after 'trying to set fire to his fiancée' at their Spanish villa

Carl Addison, 42, ended six days on the run by giving himself up to police in Majorca after the argument at the £2million villa he shared with Nicola Hewlett in the resort of Portal Nous.

Friends say the clash resulted from the property dealer's decision a month ago to call off their lavish wedding - which had been scheduled for August 29, Mr Addison's 42nd birthday - because he was fed up with her outbursts of temper.

Happier times: Carl Addison with fiancee Nicola Hewlett

The raven-haired, 41-year-old former model alleged to police that Mr Addison had thrown her on to the bed and doused her with petrol.

Miss Hewlett claimed that before he had time to set her on fire, she managed to struggle free, lock herself in the en-suite bathroom and call for help on her mobile phone. Mr Addison is then said to have fled the villa.

Police launched an island-wide manhunt, with civil guard officers setting up roadblocks and alerting ports and airports.

Picturesque: Costa den Blanes where Addison lived with fiancee Nicola

But in an exclusive interview shortly before he gave himself up, Mr Addison insisted he only went missing to avoid being thrown into a Spanish jail before he had the chance to tell his side of the story.

'She's had me jailed before with her wild allegations,' he said, admitting he had been hiding out on a friend's yacht.

'In each case, it took up to four days to get the police to realise the truth and set me free.

'I just didn't want to run the risk of that again, because jail was hell. I'm a respectable businessman, but her crazy claims are ruining my life.'

Friends say the couple's three-year relationship has been a volatile one. Earlier this summer while on his yacht, Miss Hewlett is said to have tossed his clothes overboard in a fit of rage, not realising there was £10,000 in cash inside a trouser pocket.

Mr Addison, from Wolverhampton, told the Daily Mail that he felt compelled to cancel the wedding. 'I just couldn't go through with it,' he said. 'She was making my life a nightmare.'

He said he recently left his hillside home and moved onto his yacht. Last Monday morning he returned to retrieve some clothes.

'When I arrived, Nicola flew into a rage,' he said, adding: 'I've loved her passionately for over three years. But what's happened now is the last straw. It's all over between us."

Miss Hewlett, who has moved to a villa eight miles away, was unavailable for comment.