Man hid dead girlfriend and claimed her benefits

A man who hid the body of his dead girlfriend in the airing cupboard of their flat for more than a year and claimed her benefits has been jailed for four years and four months.

Andrew Reade, 43, wrapped the body of Vicky Cherry, 44, in a duvet and plastic sheeting after her death in Oct 2015 and hid it at their home in Bolton, Greater Manchester, until it was found in a police search after her family filed a missing person report.

Miss Cherry’s cause of death could not be ascertained because of heavy decomposition. Judge Timothy Clayson said the defendant’s behaviour after the death had been “inexcusable”.