A HEROIN addict has been found guilty of murdering a man under a secluded bridge just five days after coming out of jail.

Gareth Wyn Jones bragged to friends after launching a sustained attack on vulnerable alcoholic David Alun Lewis.

Cardiff Crown Court heard Mr Lewis suffered 80 blunt force injuries before being strangled and left face down in the River Taff.

After stealing £50, the 28-year-old then used blood-stained money to pay for a drugs binge before attempting to withdraw money with his victim's bank card.

Mentally-ill Jones, who had fantasised about killing someone before, had only just become a free man after serving half of a six-year sentence for stabbing his girlfriend in the head with a fork.

Prosecution counsel Vincent Coughlin said Jones picked out Mr Lewis as easy prey at a hostel - just 90 minutes before killing the Ystrad Mynach musician.

He said: "This was clearly a calculated killing done for gain."

Jones had pleaded guilty to manslaughter but denied murder on the grounds of diminished responsibility. But after more than five hours of deliberations, a jury delivered a unanimous guilty verdict and ruled the killing was intentional.