A man at the centre of a love triangle, which ended in the murder of welfare assistant Tracy Ann Meade, has been found guilty of perverting the course of justice.

The jury took a matter of hours to find Patrick Dawkins, of Sylvan Road, South Norwood, guilty of perverting the course of justice.

He was accused of hiding information from police about the murder of Tracy Ann Meade in May 2006.

He was also said to have broken into Ms Meade's home on the day she was killed and removed items.

Dawkins' girlfriend Kelly Ross, who was 16 at the time of the offence, was found guilty of stabbing Ms Meade to death earlier this year and was jailed for life.

Dawkins, who had denied all charges, will be sentenced on January 18.

During the course of their investigation into the murder, detectives discovered that, on the day of her death, Tracy Ann Meade and Kelly Ross together met Dawkins, who was in a relationship with both women, in order to confront him.

They drove away from Dawkins' address that night in Ms Meade's car, but he managed to get away from the women, claiming they had kidnapped him.

Following the meeting, Ross led Tracy to Warminster Road, South Norwood, and stabbed her to death.

Within 20 minutes of committing the murder, Ross again met with Dawkins. They travelled by bus to the Vue cinema in Croydon to watch a film; they were captured on CCTV together on the bus and inside the cinema.

Irene Ford, Tracy's mother, said of the verdict: "The loss of my Tracy has been a living hell for me and my family.

"In court I felt physically sick when I heard how Patrick Dawkins had spun such a web of lies to police. He had so many chances to tell the truth about what happened to Tracy that day but instead he was committed to misleading the police.

"My Tracy made one mistake and that was to choose the wrong man. I am indebted to the police for their thoroughness in their efforts to bring him to justice. It is only when one goes through such a tragedy that one appreciates what an extremely difficult job the police have to do."

Detective Inspector Noel McHugh said: "This is an excellent result for Tracy's family. Patrick Dawkins was determined to derail a murder investigation with his continuous lies."