A young African wife confessed to murdering her wealthy East Sussex husband with a wooden pestle in the Gambia before setting his body alight, an inquest heard.

Kate West, 26, allegedly told African police she used a bundle of logs and petrol to set 76-year-old William West on fire before disposing of his body in the country.

Dublin-born Mr West, a retired property developer who lived in Hastings, died from a severe head injury.

Home Office pathologist Dr Peter Jerreat said in a statement to the inquest in Hastings that his injuries could have been caused by a wooden pestle.

Detective Inspector Paul Phelps was part of a three-strong team from Sussex Police who visited the Gambia to help local officers in the West African country with their investigation.

He said Mrs West, a mature student, told police that she and her husband decided to take a day trip from their home in the Gambia to Senegal by ferry on July 3 last year.

But during the course of their trip, she said he disappeared while she waited outside a store for him to buy some cigars, Mr Phelps added.

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.

Mr Phelps added that Mrs West then returned to their Gambian home in the fishing village of Sanyang, believing he may have caught the ferry without her.

Mr Phelps agreed with East Sussex coroner Alan Craze that "large parts" of her story failed to "stack up", and her account was treated with suspicion by Hastings police.