The landmark trial of a Kent man accused of killing his girlfriend more than 6000 miles away has begun.

Jorge Garay, 46, has denied murdering his Spanish lover, Karla Godoy, while they were holidaying in Peru last year.

It is believed to be the first case heard in the UK brought under Section 72 of the Domestic Abuse Act of 2021, which means a person, no matter their nationality, who is a resident in England or Wales can be tried in the UK for allegedly committing a "specified violent offence" abroad.

Garay, of Hythe Street, Dartford, is facing a month-long trial at Maidstone Crown Court.

Prosecutor Philip Bennetts KC is expected to open the case on Tuesday afternoon and will be translated into Spanish.

Garay is alleged to have killed his 36-year-old lover in Lima, Peru, between Wednesday, September 21, and Sunday, October 2 last year.

Her body was discovered wrapped in blue plastic sheeting and buried in a shallow grave in the South American capital.

Garay is being defended by barristers Edmund Burge K.C and Oliver Kirk.

The judge, Mr Justice Johnson, told jurors that the prosecution case is that the couple travelled to Spain and then onto Peru.

He said that it was common ground that Garay inflicted the injuries which resulted in his lover's death but that they will have to decide if he was under attack at the time and that the force he used to defend himself was "reasonable".