A JEALOUS Laurel and Hardy obsessive cut his ex-partner's throat after stalking her on the internet, a court has been told.

Clifford Mills, 49, set up a bogus Facebook profile under the name "Charlie Manning" while bombarding Lorna Smith, 45, of Hewitt Close, Shirley, with texts and calls after she broke off their four-year relationship, it was said.

The Old Bailey has also heard Mills was being controlled by an alter-ego called "Stan" when he carried out the killing.

Detectives found his flat full of memorabilia relating to slapstick double-act Laurel and Hardy, whose first names were Stan and Oliver.

Mills and grandmother-of-two Ms Smith remained close friends even after splitting up but the former doorman became envious when she began seeing another man, the jury was told.

Her bloodied corpse was found slumped on a sofa in the living room of his flat, with a plastic bag tied round her head and Oasis track Stop The Clocks playing on continuous repeat.

Two police officers had earlier knocked on the door after Ms Smith was reported missing by her worried boyfriend, but left after there was no answer, the court heard.

"This is a case of murderous jealousy," said Zoe Johnson, prosecuting, adding that Mills had taken two bags of clothes with him as he fled the scene.

"'This was a planned killing," she told jurors. "The two bags full of his belongings were clearly "going away" bags.

"There simply would not have been time to collect all the carefully-chosen items in two bags after the murder.

"Furthermore, the defendant made a series of rational decisions – getting on and off various tubes and buses."

Police found the body of Ms Smith after breaking into the flat in Morrish Road, Brixton, at around 5.23am on February 3 last year.

Less than half an hour earlier, Mills had presented himself to St Thomas' Hospital's casualty department, telling a horrified receptionist: "Stan has killed Lorna".

Experts called by the former club doorman's defence claim he was suffering from a borderline personality disorder and was not responsible for his actions.

But forensic psychiatrist Dr Philip Joseph said it may have been Mills' "code of honour" that provoked him to kill.

Mills denies murder but admits manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility, claiming that he suffered from a borderline personality disorder.

The trial continues.