A British holidaymaker witnessed his girlfriend's murder by a shooter in the lobby of their hotel in Brazil yesterday in a horrific robbery gone wrong. 

The tourist, whose name was reported as 38-year-old Philip Donald, was staying at a beachside guesthouse in Praia do Cumbuco, Ceara State, with his Brazilian partner Ruth Mary Silva de Oliveira Ribeiro when the pair were set upon by a violent robber.

The unidentified attacker, sporting a motorbike crash helmet, approached the pair at hotel reception just before 4pm as they were leaving the building for the nearby Fortaleza airport.

Terrifying CCTV footage shows how the crook demanded their cash before grabbing the 46-year-old Brazilian national and trying to pull her away, only for the British victim to dive into action and prevent the would-be thief from escaping. 

The trio became locked in a bitter struggle which spilt out into the hotel gardens where the robber pulled out a gun and fired a flurry of shots at his victims. 

The Brazilian woman died at the scene, just feet away from her British boyfriend who was also badly injured in the attack. 

He was rushed to hospital to undergo critical treatment but there have been no local media updates on his condition.

Local media reported that the couple was carrying the equivalent of more than £4,000 in cash at the time of the robbery, adding that the attacker arrived at the location asking for the couple.

This suggests the robber knew his victims in advance or had somehow received information they would be carrying large sums of money, but no further information has yet been revealed. 

Police are now hunting the gunman and his motorbike-driving accomplice who helped him escape the scene. 

Brazil's Secretary of Public Security and Social Defence stated that four different murder squads are investigating the killing.

A FCDO Spokesperson told MailOnline: 'We are assisting the family of a British man who has been hospitalised in Brazil and are in contact with the local authorities.'

Do you know the couple who were shot? Email [email protected]