Anthony Bird guilty of Tracy Kearns manslaughter in Kinmel Bay

Anthony Bird and Tracy Kearns had been together for seven years and had two children

A man has been found guilty of the manslaughter of his partner after finding out she was having an affair.

Anthony Bird, 48, admitted killing Tracy Kearns, the mother of his two daughters, in May, but denied a charge of murder.

A jury at Mold Crown Court found him not guilty of murder.

Bird put Miss Kearns' body in a tree house at their home in Kinmel Bay, Conwy county, before wrapping it in plastic and moving it in a trailer.

Both Bird and Miss Kearns worked at the town's Sandy Cove Club but their relationship deteriorated and she started a relationship with another man, Andrew Jones.

Tracy Kearns was reported missing in May

Bird told the trial he had not intended to kill his partner during a struggle.

The judge, Mr Justice Clive Lewis, said he would sentence Bird on Wednesday.

He said it would inevitably be a period of custody "measured in some years" to reflect the unlawful killing of an innocent victim.

The defendant did not react when the verdict was returned.

During the trial, jurors were told how Bird had suggested to his partner that they stay together for the sake of their two young daughters, and even spoke amicably to Mr Jones, a regular customer at the club.

However, Bird said he wanted to talk to Miss Kearns after she returned home from work and she was never seen alive again.

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Bird and Miss Kearns worked at the Sandy Cove Club in Kinmel Bay

Prosecuting barrister Ian Unsworth QC said it was a sustained and prolonged attack in which she suffered 40 separate injuries. She had been strangled.

Bird told family and friends that she had a new man and had walked out.

When the police were told, Bird put her body into his trailer, covered it with debris and left it behind a high wall at the club.

After police found the body, Bird changed his story and claimed he acted in self-defence.

He said that she came at him with a pair of scissors and threatened to kill him, he pushed her back and restrained her by the neck, and that she died.

Defending barrister Gordon Cole QC said Bird admitted the killing and urged a manslaughter verdict.

During the trial, Bird broke down in the witness box after saying Miss Kearns' death "was my fault".

He accepted that he repeatedly told lies to people, including police, when asked about what had happened.