THE BODY of a Northwich man who battered his wife to death with a cricket bat has been found on the banks of the River Mersey.

Charles David Lamb was jailed for five years in June 1998 after admitting killing his 49-year-old wife Margaret at the couple's terraced home in Moreton Street, Winnington.

Lamb denied murdering his wife, but pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

His body was found on the banks of the River Mersey near Sankey Bridges. He was 57.

The cause of death has been given as drowning and an inquest has been opened and adjourned.

At his trial at Chester Crown Court, Judge Elgan Edwards said the killing had been carried out in a 'brutal manner.'

A post-mortem examination revealed Mrs Lamb had died because of fractures to her skull caused by at least four blows to the head.

Lamb was released from prison earlier this year after serving about two thirds of his sentence and had recently moved to live in Warrington.

Lamb had tried to commit suicide on the day he killed his wife, November 25, 1997.

The former Brunner Mond worker slashed his wrists, took paracetamol and drank half a bottle of brandy.

On the following day he tried to kill himself again by driving his car into the path of an oncoming truck on the A49 near Cuddington.

But he only suffered minor injuries and was cut free from the wreckage before confessing the killing to police.

When arrested he told police: 'I just flipped, I just hit her, we were arguing about money.'

Doctors' reports revealed Lamb had been suffering from a depressive illness at the time he killed his wife.

He had become submissive and withdrawn.

The couple had been married since 1971 and had no children.

Lamb was a keen footballer, making 18 appearances for Witton Albion in the 1960s.

His wife Margaret was an active churchgoer who worked for Northwich estate agent Beresford Adams.