A weekly newspaper has printed extracts from a letter from a convicted killer serving life behind bars.

The ‘Lady in the Lake’ killer told readers of The Westmorland Gazette how he was still in turmoil following a ten-week trial that ended in January.

Gordon Park maintains his innocence and the Gazette has labelled his story as the stuff of a sensational crime ‘whodunnit’.

His letter, which was printed as an exclusive for the 33,500-circulation paper, describes his fellow convicts and his living conditions.

He covered prison life, hardships of being kept in a cell, the things he now sees as luxuries, and the fact that he goes to church each Sunday.

The paper decided on a written interview after Park – prisoner NV5678 – made a decision to decline any in-person interviews and refuse any detailed questioning. He told reporters the only matters he could discuss were those about his life on the inside.

He told how he is studying contemporary politics and was working in the prison library and IT workshop, earning a prison salary of £5.45 a week.

But he ventured onto his court case and conviction, the Gazette reporting him saying: "I cannot believe it. I'm devastated.

"If I knew who killed my wife, how, where, why, then I would have said so. I did not know then. I do not know now."