A bank worker who strangled his wife to death after lashing out in fear he was about to lose his job has been convicted of her murder and jailed for life.

Manas Kapoor, 35, of Kewferry Drive, Northwood, must serve a minimum of 16 years for killing his wife, Shivani, pictured below .

Investigating officer, Detective Inspector Simon Pickford of the Homicide and Major Crime Command, said: "Manas Kapoor was under a great deal of pressure, both at work and home.

"He was a compulsive gambler who was heavily in debt. On the day in question he was due to attend a disciplinary meeting with his employers, and genuinely feared he was about to lose his job.

"He admitted in police interview that he found it difficult to deal with stress and the jury, today, have agreed with the prosecution account that he killed his wife, strangling her in a fit of rage when the many stresses came to a head.

"Our thoughts are with Shivani's family and her 18-month-old child, who have lost a loving daughter and mother."

Police were called to the couple's home in shortly after 1.50pm on July 10 last year following reports of a woman found unresponsive.

On arrival, officers found 35-year-old Shivani being treated by staff from London Ambulance Service.

She was taken to Hillingdon Hospital in Pield Heath Road, Hillingdon, but later died from her injuries. A post-mortem examination gave the cause of death as manual compression of the neck.

Kapoor was arrested at the scene.

Wood Green Crown Court heard that he had made a 999 call claiming he'd found his wife unconscious on the bedroom floor and he thought she had fallen off a stool and hit her head. He later claimed she suffered fainting fits, though he did not tell paramedics at the scene when asked if his wife had any medical conditions.

On the day of the incident, Kapoor had been due to attend an important work meeting about a serious accounting error involving millions of dollars he was being held responsible for.

Kapoor, who had worked for a Canary Wharf bank as a product controller in the finance department for several years, feared he was about to lose his job.

He had been on long-term sick leave since the previous January with depression and anxiety.

The court heard was also in personal debt by £8,000 because of gambling and this had caused tension between he and his wife, with whom he had a young daughter.

Mrs Kapoor had complained to friends and family about the situation in the days before her death and said items of jewellery belonging to her and her daughter had gone missing, as well as sums of money.

Her husband had pawned the jewellery in order to cover some of his outstanding debts, and he had also borrowed thousands of pounds from friends.

The prosecution said the circumstances were 'ripe' for him having lashed out in a fit of temper, strangling his wife.

Police officers who attended the scene noted that Kapoor had a series of small, thin scratches on the right side of his face, which he claimed were caused by his daughter. He said he was in the bath when his wife 'fell'.