Image copyrightWales News ServiceImage captionChristopher May outside court before a previous hearing
An ex-butcher carried the severed head of a woman he had killed through Pontypridd and hid it in an underground chamber, a murder trial has heard.
The discovery was made after the dismembered remains of Tracey Woodford, 47, were found at a flat in the Rhondda Cynon Taff town in April.
Prosecutors said the killing was motivated by a "perverted sexual desire".
Christopher Nathan May, 50, denies murder at Cardiff Crown Court.
A police officer told a jury on Wednesday that he "could not believe" his eyes after discovering the remains of Ms Woodford in Mr May's bathroom.
Sgt Stuart Williams said: "I was very shocked.
"I did not believe what I saw. I thought some one had cut up a mannequin and placed them in the shower drain."
'Horror movie'
Fellow officer, PC Craig Gardiner, broke down while giving evidence about the moment a shower curtain was pulled back to reveal the crime scene.
"I thought my eyes were deceiving me and I was watching some sort of horror movie," he said in a written statement.
An expert said the way the body had been dismembered showed whoever had done it had some "skill and knowledge".
Prosecutor Roger Thomas QC said: "It seems that his experience in butcher shops has been put to use on a human body."
The grim discoveries were made after Ms Woodford had been missing for three days.
She was last seen leaving the Skinny Dog pub in the town with Mr May, heading in the general direction of his home in the Graig area of the town on 21 April.
The accused later told police he had hidden some of her remains in a storm drain, where her head was found on 24 April.
"The defendant carried a body part and the head from his flat, through part of Pontypridd, entering a dark tunnel and walking into it for 138m (453ft) - a significant distance," Mr Thomas told the jury.
"You may want to ask: What was going on in this man's mind?"
Image copyrightSouth Wales PoliceImage captionTracey Woodford's body was found on 21 April
The prosecution said the accused claimed he had consensual sex with Ms Woodford, but a row erupted when he found her going through his wallet.
He has insisted the killing was self-defence and he lost control during the row.
As he sobered up he was "physically sick" several times, and "everything felt unreal" as he transferred body parts from his flat over the following days, said the prosecutor.
"We submit this was a deliberate murder, inflamed by sexual passion, and it was a deliberate and callous act thereafter to dismember her, conceal her and dispose of her and that, ultimately, you are presented with a worked-out defence," added Mr Thomas.
Image captionNathan Matthews, dressed as a prison inmate, at a fancy dress party with Shauna Hoare (far right) and Becky's father Darren Galsworthy (left and his wife Anjie (centre left)
Becky Watts' step-brother Nathan Matthews and his girlfriend Shauna Hoarehave been found guilty of killing her following a sexually motivated kidnapping plot. But how were they brought to justice?
"Most people don't understand the concept of mine and Nathan's relationship. They never have understood it. Things that seem completely normal to us wouldn't seem normal to others."
This is how Shauna Hoare sums up her six-year relationship with Nathan Matthews.
There was little evidence to physically link the 21-year-old with Becky's death - her fingerprints were not found on incriminating items.
And while miniscule amounts of her DNA were discovered on two bags containing parts of Becky's body, and on a face mask thought to have been used after the attack, experts could not say with confidence whether she had ever actually touched them.
Image captionBecky was attacked by Nathan Matthews in her own bedroom
Matthews, on the other hand, admitted much of it - killing Becky and using a circular power saw to dismember her body in their bath, before hiding her remains in a nearby shed.
He said he had only intended to scare Becky by kidnapping her, explaining that he had become frustrated by the way he said his step-sister had been treating his disabled mother.
Matthews insisted he accidentally killed her and then went to extreme lengths to prevent the family finding out.
'Kidnap from school'
But, as the police continued to gather evidence as the months progressed, a different and even more disturbing picture began to emerge.
Text and Facebook messages between Matthews and Hoare suggested a shared sexual interest in teenage girls and evidence they had already considered kidnapping one.
In December 2014, little more than two months before Becky's death, Matthews sent a text to Hoare: "Bring me back two pretty schoolgirls then :)" to which she replied: "LOL yeah, I will just kidnap them from school."
Image copyrightPAImage captionBecky Watts lived in the St George area of BristolImage copyrightPAImage captionBecky's body was dismembered at Matthews' and Hoare's home in Cotton Mill LaneImage copyrightAvon and Somerset PoliceImage captionDespite the rest of Matthews' and Hoare's house being untidy - the bathroom was scrubbed clean
Later that day she texted him to say she had seen a "very pretty girl... Almost knocked her out to bring home LOL".
When Matthews replied "DO IT", she wrote: "LMFAO yeah, I will just go back in time to when I saw her then time travel with her to the attic, LOL, XOXO".
Matthews did not hide his attraction to teenagers from his partner, who was only 15 when they met. He was 21 at the time.
He would point out "pretty" girls to her and say he would "give her a go".
Hoare said she would answer him sarcastically, as a way of showing her disapproval without overtly challenging him - and that explained the text messages.
'Sexual plaything'
But prosecutor William Mousley QC said those messages, together with pornographic websites bookmarked on the phone she shared with Matthews, gave "a pretty good indication as to what Shauna Hoare is really like".
Her "shared interests" with Matthews extended to three-way sex with pretty girls, he said, adding that the pair planned to kidnap Becky and take her back to their attic to be used as their "sexual plaything".
Among the pornography found on devices in the house was a video about the rape of a teenage girl.
Image copyrightAvon and Somerset PoliceImage captionMatthews was pictured on CCTV buying a power saw the day after he killed Becky
Matthews insisted the kidnapping plan was his alone, and he dismembered Becky's body single-handedly with a power saw.
He claimed he did this without damaging the bath, and with his eyes shut.
Hoare said she knew nothing about any of this.
In the witness box, they cut very different figures.
While Matthews was hunched over and often in tears, Hoare was calmer and more confident.
The prosecution suggested she was a "very cold individual" who had first put the idea of kidnapping Becky, whom she did not like, into Matthews' head.
'Grotesque'
While she was initially only charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice, a combination of the messages between the pair and the "sheer implausibility" of her story formed the core of the prosecution's case.
Rachael Scott, head of the South West complex case work unit for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), told the BBC Hoare's original explanation just "didn't stack up" and she must have known what was going on.
The texts, once they came to light, "seemed an appropriate motive for what Shauna Hoare and Nathan Matthews did", said Ms Scott.
Injuries inflicted to Becky's body after her death and the "grotesque" way her corpse was treated betrayed the couple's "contempt" for the teenager, the prosecution said.
Det Supt Mike Courtiour told the BBC in 30 years as a police officer he had never been involved in a case like it and what Matthews had done would have "a lasting effect on everyone involved".
"From a personal point of view... this will leave a significant impression as one of the most horrendous cases that I have been involved in and dealt with."
Image copyrightAnne PriceImage captionThe blaze at Wokefield Park, near Mortimer, has reached the roof
Firefighters have been tackling a major fire at a Berkshire hotel.
The blaze at Wokefield Park, broke out at about 17:30 GMT in a ground floor linen area and spread to the roof.
The hotel, which features an 18th-Century building and modern executive centre, sits in 250 acres of land featuring a championship golf course.
Twelve fire engines were initially called to the hotel, near Mortimer, but they were scaled back to six at about 23:30, the fire service said.
Image captionThe blaze was initially centred around newer buildings, the hotel saidImage copyrightArmySTBAImage captionA linen area on the ground floor is understood to be the source of the fireImage captionTwelve fire engines, a water carrier and an aerial platform have been involved
Up to 100 guests of the hotel, part of the De Vere group, had been evacuated safely, Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue group manager Chris Bunyan said.
By midnight, he said the fire had been "fully surrounded and under control".
"There are six fire appliances still on site and crews are damping down and checking for hotspots," Mr Bunyan said.
"About 30 staff in total remain at the scene - I would say they will be there until at least three or four o'clock in the morning, with some there into the daylight hours."
The fire service said the initial fire was centred around a newer building on the site.
A spokesman from the hotel company said: "We can confirm that there has been a fire within a section of Wokefield Park.
"Our priority at this time is the safety of our guests and staff and we are working very closely with the fire brigade who are on site now.
"We will provide further information as it becomes available."
Image copyrightGraham HornImage captionThe 18th-Century building sits in 250 acres of land
Fire engines that battled the blaze are from Whitley Wood, Dee Road, Caversham Road, Wokingham Road, Bracknell, Wokingham, Ascot and Newbury.
A further four are from Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service.
A spokesman for South Central Ambulance said there were no reported casualties.
The hotel's modern executive centre has 222 bedrooms and 30 meeting rooms, along with a pool, gym and sauna.
The historic mansion house has 87 bedrooms, 21 meeting rooms and a restaurant.
Image copyrightGoogleImage captionThe crash happened on the A760 near Mills Dairy
A teenager has died and a 28-year-old woman is in a critical condition after a car crash in North Ayrshire.
The collision between two vehicles on the A760 Largs to Kilbirnie Road happened at about 22:30 on Friday.
An 18-year-old man was driving a Nissan Juke towards Largs when he collided with a Ford Focus travelling in the opposite direction near Mills Dairy.
The 17-year-old female passenger in the Nissan died at the scene. The driver has serious chest injuries.
He is being treated at Crosshouse Hospital in Kilmarnock where his condition is described as serious but stable.
The woman who is in a critical condition was a passenger in the Ford Focus. Police Scotland said she had "very serious injuries" and is being treated at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley.
The 32-year-old driver of the Focus suffered minor injuries and has been released from hospital.
Police have appealed for witnesses to contact them.
The next series of The Voice UK will be the last to be broadcast on the BBC, after it was "poached by another broadcaster", the corporation says.
Mark Linsey, acting director of BBC Television, said in a statement that it "wouldn't get into a bidding war or pay inflated prices to keep the show".
The next series, which begins in January, will be the fifth to be shown by the BBC.
The show's new broadcaster has not yet been confirmed.
Mr Linsey said: "The BBC is incredibly proud of The Voice, but the fifth series which starts in January will be our last.
"We always said we wouldn't get into a bidding war or pay inflated prices to keep the show, and it's testament to how the BBC has built the programme up - and established it into a mainstay of the Saturday night schedule - that another broadcaster has poached it."
Boy George and Paloma Faith will join will.i.am and Ricky Wilson on the judging panel for the next series.
The show is currently made for BBC One by production companies Talpa and Wall to Wall. ITV bought Talpa for £355m earlier this year.
The Voice was singled out in a consultation paper published by the government, ahead of the BBC's charter renewal, as a format that is "similar to ITV's X Factor", and which was bought in from overseas rather than being developed in-house.
Culture Secretary John Whittingdale has questioned whether such shows are "distinctive" enough from those aired by commercial rivals.
In August, the BBC's director of television Danny Cohen - who is leaving his role at the end of November - defended the corporation's right to air entertainment shows like The Voice.
Media captionPictures show tents on fire and one person shouting "we are people, not animals", as the BBC's Jonathan Beale reports.
It shows tents on fire, people trying to climb fences and one person shouting "We are people, not animals".Footage has emerged showing a series of disturbances by migrants who want to leave a UK military base in Cyprus.
The Ministry of Defence says the 100 migrants - mostly Syrians - are being given three meals a day and shelter.
'Hanging threat'
The footage appears to have been filmed on a smartphone by one of the migrants at the camp, which has been set up at another military station in the east of the island.
One clip appears to show a man threatening to hang himself before British police officers arrive. In another, a young boy complains about the cold, saying he had only flip flops to wear on his feet.
Image captionOn Saturday, members of the group set fire to some tents
A government spokesman said: "We are aware of a series of incidents at the temporary accommodation facility in Cyprus.
"Those staying there have access to three meals a day, shelter, privacy and communications, which United Nations staff have visited and say exceeds the standard of comparable set-ups.
"We continue to work closely with the Cypriot authorities to resolve this situation as quickly as possible. The UK government will not allow a new migrant route to open up to the UK."
The group, who landed at Akrotiri on Cyprus's south coast, consisted of 67 men, 19 women and 28 children.
'Festering problem'
The government said 14 migrants had since been moved to accommodation in Cyprus.
"Those who have been moved include a number who have claimed asylum, as well as those deemed to be vulnerable," a spokesman said.
BBC defence correspondent Jonathan Beale said the majority of the 114 were still in the camp and in limbo.
"The footage shows tensions are rising and the migrants are frustrated that they are not being allowed to move on," he said.
"The message the government wants to send is a very firm one - we are not going to allow Cyprus to become a route into the UK and this is a matter that will be handed over to the Cypriot authorities.
"Trouble is very few have been handed over and this is a festering problem for the MoD."
Wales News Service
South Wales Police
