Hours later, the frail pensioner lay dying in a pool of blood on her floor after a savage beating by Peter Smith fractured her skull and left her fighting a losing battle to stay alive.

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On Friday he was found guilty of her murder by a Nottingham crown Court jury.

Cold-blooded Smith battered Hilda to death just eight days after he effectively signed her death warrant, when he forged her will on 19th February, leaving him all her possessions and money.

The next stage of his evil plan to clear his £18,000 debts saw calculating Smith desperately trying to cover his tracks.

The former civil servant, who prosecutors believe killed Hilda between 7 and 7.35pm on 27th February, visited Sherwood Pines Forest in Clipstone to dump key evidence linking him to the killing.

On the morning of 1st March, as Hilda's corpse lay waiting to be discovered, Smith went to Mansfield's waste recycling centre to dispose of the slippers he had been wearing when he carried out the killing.

The final part of his scheme involved him faking a frantic call to emergency services pleading for help after he claimed to have stumbled upon the body.

He then presented Hilda's last will to police believing he would soon have thousands of pounds coming his way.

But instead of a large cash legacy, Smith has instead got to serve at least 30 years in prison after his desperate gamble failed to pay off.