A British woman was one of five people gunned down by a former US soldier at a Florida airport.

Olga Woltering, a great-grandmother who was in her 80s, has been identified as one of those killed in the mass shooting in Fort Lauderdale on Friday night.

Woltering, reportedly originally from Ipswich, Suffolk, lived in Atlanta with her husband Ralph, a former US airman. The couple are believed to have been travelling from their home in Georgia to go on a cruise.

The Catholic Church of the Transfiguration in Cobb county, Georgia, of which Woltering had been a member since 1978, said she was “so charming, calling everybody ‘Lovey’ or ‘Love’ in her unmistakable British accent”.

Father Fernando Molina-Restrepo said: “Olga was one of the most joyful, loving, caring and committed people I have ever met. This is a horrible tragedy for everyone here at Transfiguration, especially because Olga was so loved.

“Olga and Ralph have been members of our Transfiguration family since October 1978. May God give consolation to all of the victims of this tragedy and may God give eternal rest to those who died. Especially to our beloved Olga. Peace.”

Esteban Santiago, 26, a former member of the National Guard from Alaska and an Iraq war veteran, is accused of carrying out the killings, which also left six people injured.