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

William West, 76, a retired Hastings 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.

Today, 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.

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.

The inquest into his death at Hastings Law Courts in May 2007 heard her claim that he simply vanished while she waited outside a convenience store for him while he bought cigars.

After waiting outside for 10 minutes, she told police she went inside the store to speak to staff without success and continued searching for him.

She then later returned to their Gambian home in the fishing village of Sanyang, believing he may have caught the ferry back without her, Detective Inspector Paul Phelps, of Sussex Police, told the inquest.

But instead of contacting police in Sanyang when she realised he had not returned there, she flew to England, apparently believing he had flown home.

Mr Phelps agreed with East Sussex Coroner Alan Craze that large parts of her account of events failed to "stack up" and he confirmed they were treating her story with suspicion.

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

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