6 March 2012 Last updated at 13:12 ET

Croydon man Gary Brockwell jailed for strangling wife

A man has been jailed for life for murdering his wife after she confessed to having an affair.

Gary Brockwell told police he "flipped" after his childhood sweetheart Gaynor, 46, said she was leaving him for another man, the Old Bailey heard.

Brockwell, 48, of Court Wood Lane, Croydon, south London, admitted strangling his wife, but denied murder, saying it was through loss of control.

Judge John Bevan QC told him he must serve a minimum term of 12 years.

'I didn't stop'

The court heard Brockwell, a senior manager in a civil engineering company, had told officers: "I felt angry and patronised. I flipped.

"I just blew out and put my hands round her throat. I didn't stop. I didn't let go.

"I cannot get her face out of my head. I idolised her all my life. She had everything and more."

He told them that he carried out the killing last October, after he his wife had spent the evening in a village pub with friends.

'A tragedy'

After returning home, they danced before Mrs Brockwell broke the news to him.

Judge Bevan said to Brockwell: "This case is a tragedy. You are not a violent man. This is a complete one-off.

"It was instantly regretted by you. It arose from a promise not to leave you again, she having left you a number of times over the years for other men.

"You lost your temper and your self control and you strangled her to death."