Thai police say two local workers have confessed to brutal murder of British tourists

Thai police say two men from Myanmar have admitted to killing a pair of British holidaymakers whose battered bodies were found on a resort island last month.

The two Burmese men were reportedly interrogated before admitting to the crime, and a British newspaper claims one had become "aroused" before the horrific killings.

"Two Myanmar suspects have confessed to killing the pair," Thai National police chief Somyot Poompanmoung told AFP, adding their DNA matched traces found at the crime scene on Koh Tao island where David Miller, 24, and Hannah Witheridge, 23, were found dead on September 15.

The two who have confessed were among three Myanmar nationals held since Thursday on suspicion of involvement in the crime, Somyot said.

"The third suspect said he left the crime scene before murder took place," Somyot, Thailand's top policeman said.

"DNA test results (from the two men) confirmed that same DNA was present that we found in body of the (female) victim," he said, without giving further details.

A police source said one of the killers had "become aroused" after seeing Ms Witheridge on a beach and decided to rape her and kill them both, British newspaper The Mirror reports.

The newspaper also says the two Burmese men were "interrogated" before admitting to the horrific killings.

One of the men is believed to be the mystery "guitar man" seen near the victims before they were killed.

DNA from the suspects is being analysed.

Police are waiting for a local court to issue a warrant so the men can be charged, Somyot said.

The murders, on a normally tranquil island popular with divers, dented Thailand's image as a tourist haven.

Critics – especially among the British media – have accused Thai authorities of bungling the investigation in the near three weeks since the murders by chasing the wrong leads and failing to lock down the island in the hours following the killings.

– ninemsn staff contributed to this report