A secret luxury hideaway used by a 7/7 bomber's fugitive widow to evade capture has been revealed by investigators in Kenya.

While security agencies step up their hunt for Samantha Lewthwaite, who is wanted in connection with a suspected terrorist plot, it appears the widow of suicide killer Jermaine Lindsay has been living in the lap of luxury.

Photos showed the sprawling five-bedroom villa, situated just minutes from the sandy white beaches of Mombasa, were it is suspected Ms Lewthwaite has been living and aiding a terror cell plotting to blow up hotels and shopping centres across the East African city.

And it is believed police might even have discovered Ms Lewthwaite, 28, at the villa during a raid on the property but let her go when she provided a South African passport under the name of Natalie Faye Webb.

When they returned a few days later they discovered a smashed laptop and ammunition and have now confirmed the fugitive was staying at the villa.

According to The Sun newspaper, the police were acting on information obtained from British Jermaine Grant, 29, who was arrested just a few days before the raid and is now behind bars facing terrorism charges.

He indicated Ms Lewthwaite, whose husband killed 26 at King's Cross in the 2005 attacks in London, as the leader of a terrorist cell who allegedly paid out tens of thousands of US dollars to Islamic fanatics from the property.

When police officers questioned Grant, formerly of Newham, East London, the newspaper claims he responded: 'You should be arresting the boss' and gave them details of addresses used by Ms Lewthwaite.

This led security forces to the Mombasa villa - where it is believed Ms Lewthwaite was staying with Habib Ghani, who is originally from Hounslow but has lived in Africa for several years, and is wanted in connection with bomb plots.

The five-bedroom luxury home was rented out on November 17 using the Mozambique passport of Narco Costa, 29.

The Landlord Nelson Korir said the man called himself Mark and spoke with an English accent. He also identified a picture of Ms Lewthwaite as the man's wife and said three children were with them.

He told how the woman wore western clothing and didn't cover her head but refused to allow a caretaker in to the property.

Mother-of-three Ms Lewthwaite, a Muslim convert from Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, was reportedly hauled from her bed by a team of 27 officers but when she provided a false identity the officers let her go in December.

It is believed Ms Lewthwaite fled and could now be in Malindi, a two hour drive from Mobasa, or Nairobi, or even moved across the border into Tanzania.

When police went back to the property a few days later they discovered ammunition and a smashed laptop.

A neighbour said: 'We knew her as 'the white woman' who was very secretive. She went to the mosque a lot and would not let her children attend school.'

According to The Times, the property was one of a network of secret safe houses used by the widow.

The youngest of three children, Ms Lewthwaite was born in Banbridge, County Down, in 1983 to Christine and soldier Andrew, who was serving in Northern Ireland.

Her parents moved to Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, but separated when she was 11.

As a teenager, Ms Lewthwaite wore make-up and dresses, and went to parties with her friends.

But after learning about the Muslim faith in religious studies lessons at school, the teenager told friends she was converting, and changed her name to Asmantara.

Within two years, by the age of 17, she was wearing the long gown that covers everything but the hands and face called a jilbab.

While studying for a degree in religion and politics at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London she met Jamaican-born Jermaine Lindsay, a fellow Muslim convert, through an Islamic chatroom.

In October 2002 they married in an Islamic ceremony in Aylesbury.

In 2004 their first son was born, which is when she says her husband first started to spend time at radical mosques in London, Luton and Yorkshire.

After the 7/7 bombings, Ms Lewthwaite claimed she knew nothing of the plot that killed a total of 52 victims and gave an 'exclusive' interview for a reported fee of £30,000 condemning the atrocity.

She has said she believes his mind was poisoned by these visits because before this he had been a 'peaceful man'.

But police believed she is involved in a terror plot and a police source quoted in The Times today claimed she was 'dangerous'.