London, Jun 26 (IANS): An Indian man in Britain has been sentenced to life in prison for murdering his British wife last year.

The Stafford Crown Court sentenced Devendra Singh, 33, to life in prison with no parole eligibility for 16 years for bludgeoning to death Charlotte Smith, 41, with a two-kg ornamental elephant in their home at Laddeege, near Leek, Staffordshire, Sep 3 last year, according to media reports.

Singh reportedly flew into a rage when Smith sought a divorce as she was unhappy with their relationship and smashed and shattered the latter's skull with the wooden ornamental piece.

He then threw the ornamental piece over the garden into a field and fled to London.

Smith's body was found by her family members three days after the incident.

"There were an awful lot of fractures to the front of the skull, and I could feel a lot of fractures to the face,” The Mirror quoted pathologist Olaf Biedrzycki, who examined Smith's body, as saying.

"The degree of force used to inflict the injuries is of an extreme nature.”

Smith had met Singh during a family holiday in Goa, India, in 2008.

They started a relationship and got married in December 2010 in Goa.

After waiting for his visa, Singh moved to the Stafforshire home.

As Singh could not find work, Smith's family opened a town centre shop for him to run.

According to the reports, after killing his wife, Singh used her SIM card to contact her family and friends pretending to be her but later handed himself over to the police.

During the court hearing, he admitted to killing his wife but said the murder was not premeditated as he had suffered “a loss of control”.

"No matter what length of sentence is served to him, nothing will compensate for our loss,” Smith's parents said in a statement after the sentencing Tuesday.

"Some years from now, he will leave prison and be free to continue with his life. For Charlie there is nothing.”