An Australian judge has passed sentence on a man found guilty of shooting his wife in the head and then hiding her body in giant metal drum in his garden for 23 years.

Frederick Boyle was found guilty of murdering his wife, Edwina, in October 1983 and then forging a note saying she had run off in the night with a truck driver.

However, Boyle's son-in-law finally discovered Edwina's remains in a 44-gallon drum at the family home in October 2006 - bringing to an end a two decade search for her.

Edwina's disappearance had been a mystery for Australian police for 23 years.

Boyle always maintained his innocence, claiming he woke up one morning to find his wife shot and strangled next to him in bed.

He said he then hid her body because he thought police would not believe someone else had killed her.

However, he has now been sentenced to 21 years in prison and was given no chance of patrol for at least 17 years.

The sentence means Boyle, 58, will spend most of his life behind bars.

The news came as a relief to Valerie Bordley, a charity worker from north Watford, who sustained a one woman crusade to discover the truth about her missing sister.

Valerie, of The Pelhams, hired private detectives and consulted psychics to try and find out the truth of her sister's disappearance.

She was in court for every day of the ten day trial at a Melbourne courthouse last month and received an early morning phone call this week relaying the news.

Valerie, who is manager of the Help the Aged shop in St Albans Road, described it was a "very just sentence".

She said: "It is just relief it is all over. It is a great relief.

"Just really has been served. I found out at 4am in the morning because as soon as they got out of court I had a phone call from the officer on the case in Melbourne."

However, she said is still coming to terms with what happened to Edwina.

"I am still not sleeping properly.

"I still do get dreams about it so it will take a little while to settle down."

Sentencing him, Justice Jack Forrest said Boyle had shown "no remorse whatsoever" and his actions had left Valerie heartbroken.

He told Boyle: "She (Valerie) is understandably traumatised by the fact that, for 23 years, the remains of her sister lay in a metal drum in your possession.

"According to her, the Welsh side of the family has been destroyed due to your actions and lies."

The judge said he was satisfied Boyle had murdered Edwina due to the effect his affair with another woman, Virginia Gissara, was having on the couple's marriage.

Boyle's daughters, Careesa, now 35 and Shannon, 32, were both in court to watch their father's sentencing.

Justice Forrest added: "You have sought to live a lie, with the sole aim of avoiding apprehension for your dastardly actions.

"Rather than admit your wrongdoing, you determined to construct a web of deceit and lies designed to deceive others into believing that the deceased had left you and run off with another man."