A cheating husband battered his wife to death and then entombed her body in a car roof-box in the back garden.

Andre Genestin had earlier stored the corpse of his wife, Catherine, in a cupboard in his home, just yards from where their daughter played.

Yesterday, in the opening day of Genestin's murder trial, the jury was told how he had struck up a relationship with a Ukrainian woman and was worried he would be blackmailed by his wife.

The court was told that in the early hours of May 12 he took a wooden mallet and smashed Catherine around the head about six times.

He is accused of wrapping her body in plastic sheets and putting it in the cupboard before dumping the box in the garden. Genestin is then said to have tried to cover his tracks by sending out fake emails and texts, purporting to be from his wife.

Christine Laing, prosecuting, said: "Having caused her death by crushing her skull with repeated blows from a heavy blunt object he stored her body in and around the house.

"He then carried on his life as normal and did all he could to avoid the consequences of his actions."

The smell of Catherine's rotting corpse grew so strong neighbours began to grow suspicious. However, it was the couple's daughter who alerted the authorities to the killing after telling teachers her mother had left "in the middle of the night".

Genestin denies murder but admits manslaughter on grounds of diminished responsibility.