MORE than 500 people have joined Facebook campaigns supporting Adrian Prout the week he was sentenced for the murder of his wife.

The wealthy landowner, from Redmarley, was jailed for a minimum of 18-years on Monday despite the body of 55-year-old Kate never being found.

Now thanks to the efforts of his daughter Laura and his new fiancée’s daughter, Jade Garlick, hundreds have joined internet groups demanding his release.

They include relatives, friends and well-wishers who have expressed shock at the conviction and even alleged Mrs Prout is alive and well.

Prout was told by Mr Justice Davis that the “careful and considered” way in which he had hidden his wife’s body was a “very, very aggravating factor” in the case.

The 47-year-old, who owns a successful pipe-laying business and runs a commercial pheasant shoot, was found guilty of murder on Friday.

Kate, a retired primary teacher, vanished on Bonfire Night in 2007 from the £1.2m farm she shared with her husband during acrimonious divorce proceedings. He reported her missing five days later.

At Bristol Crown Court, Mr Justice Davis said he could not rule out that other people helped Prout hide the body.

He told Prout: "A very, very aggravating factor in my mind is the careful and considered way in which you have concealed the body.”

He added: “How you killed her, is only known to you. You most probably did it by strangling her."

Prout’s fiancée, Debbie Garlick, 44, gave birth to a daughter, named Evie, before the start of the trial.

Kate’s family have now urged Prout to reveal where the body is hidden so they can say their last goodbyes.