A DRUG dealer who wrapped the body of his girlfriend in air bed and hid it following her death from a drug overdose has been told he faces a 'substantial' prison sentence.

A jury at Truro Crown Court took less than two hours to convict Clayton Hawkes from Hayle of perverting the course of justice following the woman's death in April 2018.

Cecilia Seddon, 32, was found hidden in a bed frame at a property on Penare Road, Penzance on April 19. She had died after being injected with drugs by Hawkes, 52. He had denied the charge and two counts of administering a poison.

Jurors were told Blaze Fisher, 25, of Redruth, had previously admitted perverting the course of justice by hiding Ms Seddon's body.

Truro Crown Court was told Hawkes was a drug dealer who dealt drugs from that address.

Ms Seddon's death followed a birthday party at Hawke's flat on April 13 attended by her and some friends who were all taking drugs.

Hawkes was eventually left alone with Seddon and the others continued partying at the house of Gavin Boyle.

The court heard that after her death Hawkes 'panicked' and wrapped her body in the blue air bed that had been cut open and then hid the body inside a wooden double bed frame.

After the party Hawkes and Fisher asked if they could move into Mr Boyle's flat. They said it was because the landlady was evicting Hawkes, even though he still had notice left.

Mr Boyle said at one point he went back to Hawkes' flat to pick up some things up and there was and overpowering rotten meat smell. Hawkes blamed this on rotting meat in the fridge, then off scallops and then a dead animal.

The jury was told by prosecutor Peter Coombe in his summing up that during Hawke's time at Boyle's home a drug warrant was executed at his old flat by police on April 18.

Mr Boyle said Hawkes appeared to be very scared but, when the police did not find her body, he became cocky and told Boyle that Ms Seddon had died after he injected her with a 'speedball' heroin and cocaine. He had hidden her body in the cavity of his double bed.

"He was plainly horrified," said Mr Coombe. "This was an horrific scenario isn't it? Anybody's worst nightmare. A body has been bundled under a bed, sealed up, accelerating the speed of decomposition. It is difficult to think of something more horrific than that."

Boyle went to the police and Hawkes was arrested. Ms Seddon's cause of death could not be determined because of decomposition and the men had destroyed evidence.

"If Mr Hawkes was innocent of this how could he possibly have stayed silent in [police] interviews?" said Mr Coombe. "This is his ex-girlfriend surely there is some residual form of affection but, even if you didn't, you would have some sort of residual sense of humanity.

"If you've got nothing to do with it, there's a dead body. This isn't something to do with a bit of theft or a bit of robbery, somebody died.

"If you've got nothing to do with it and you have vital information then why would you not go to the police?"

He said Mr Hawkes was the puppet master and everyone around him were the puppets. He said Mr Fisher wasn't going to take Hawkes' girlfriend and wrap her up in Mr Hawkes bed all under his own initiative as Hawkes had claimed.

Mr Hawkes’ defence claimed that Mr Boyle was lying about the confession and that as no one had actually said they had seen Hawkes put Ms Seddon in the airbed, he hadn't done it.

Following the verdict the judge revoked bail and warned Hawkes he faced a 'substantial period of imprisonment' prison sentence. He remanded him in custody for sentencing at Exeter Crown Court next Thursday.