A town in the south of France has been left "traumatised" after the sudden death of an anti-fraud specialist and his wife. A neighbour found the bodies of Andrew Searle and Dawn Kerr, from Musselburgh in East Lothian, in the home they shared in the quaint hamlet of Les Pesquies in Villefranche-de-Rouergue, outside of Toulouse. A local woman and friend, who asked to remain anonymous, said they were "exceptional people" and well-loved in the town after living there for around a decade. She said: "We are devastated. The whole of Villefranche is shocked. There aren’t even words for it, we are traumatised. "They were people whom we loved, they were part of Villefranche, they were part of us. These people were exceptional." The woman explained that the British couple used to prepare a meal for all their neighbours once a year. She said "everyone went to eat at theirs", adding that the town of Villefranche-de-Rouergue was usually "very quiet". She said: "Just talking about it, I am crying and shaking. I want to throw up. It just hurts too much. "People here are disgusted – especially knowing they (Dawn and Andrew) were a mother and a father, a grandmother and a grandfather." The woman added that the national police and the army appeared to "be hard at work" as she described a heavy presence in the area around Les Pesquies. Neither the prosecutor in charge of the case, Nicolas Rigot-Muller, nor the police have confirmed whether the case was being investigated as a murder. It is understood Ms Kerr and Mr Searle were the mother and stepfather of actor and musician Callum Kerr, who played PC George Kiss in Hollyoaks. As well as the Channel 4 soap opera, he appeared in Netflix's Virgin River, according to a statement published on Mr Kerr’s social media accounts on February 8. The statement read: "At this time, Callum Kerr and Amanda Kerr are grieving the loss of their mother, Dawn Searle (nee Smith, Kerr), while Tom Searle and Ella Searle are mourning the loss of their father, Andrew Searle. "No family member is available for media interviews or comments. We kindly request that their privacy be respected during this difficult period. We will provide updates as appropriate."