A young African woman has been jailed for life in the Gambia after being convicted of murdering her wealthy British husband, police have said.

William West, 76, a retired property developer, died from a severe head injury close to his beachfront holiday home in the West African country in July 2006.

An inquest into his death in Britain two years ago heard his wife Kate West confessed to murdering him with a wooden pestle before setting his body alight.

On Tuesday, West, 29, was found guilty of murder and jailed for life by Nigerian judge Justice Joseph Wowo at the Banjul High Court, Gambian Police Force spokesman Sulayman Secka said.

West is said to have remained expressionless in court when she was found guilty but collapsed sobbing when told that she faced life imprisonment.

Mr Secka said she would be transferred to the state Central Prison in Banjul for the killing of Dublin-born Mr West, who lived in St Helen's Park Road, Hastings, East Sussex.

West, who was a mature student at the time, initially told police following her husband's death that he had disappeared after they took a day trip together from their home in the Gambia to Senegal on July 3 2006.

Inquiries later revealed that no such day trip to Senegal took place and she confessed to his murder with a wooden pestle, the hearing was told.

She then dragged his body down the garden, collected up bundles of logs, leaves and petrol to burn his body, the coroner was told.