The 25-year-old has now slammed his two-day murder trial on the holiday island of Crete as a 'farce' – with judges laughing and one juror falling asleep.

He was convicted of killing girlfriend Chelsea Hyndman at the conclusion of the case, which ended in a 14-hour session lasting until 10.30pm.

Speaking to the Express & Star from Crete, Luke hit out at the justice system in Greece, claiming the proceedings were a 'shambles'.

He was initially charged with murdering Chelsea in the party town of Malia, Crete, where they lived together, but the allegation was downgraded to GBH leading to death.

The court sentenced him to eight years in jail but when he immediately lodged an appeal, the prison term was suspended to await a new hearing, which could be a year away.

"Two of the judges were laughing – a jury member fell asleep," Luke told the Express & Star.

"And, when they went out to make the decision about the rest of my life, it took them 20 minutes. It was a farce."

The trial heard that Chelsea, of Castleford, West Yorkshire, died after she was taken to hospital with abdominal pains. She died on May 17 2010 from acute peritonitis, having suffered deteriorating health for a number of days.

Greek prosecutors claim she was beaten by Luke. The defence team said the injuries must have been caused when she fell on a cobbled street during a girls' night out 10 days before she died.

Luke spoke out about evidence from an Albanian neighbour – Eda Quirici – claiming she had heard him and Chelsea having 'intense arguments' and that she heard screams in their apartment block five days before her death.

"It was the main evidence the prosecutors were going on but I don't even know her and she didn't event turn up to the trial," said Luke.

Luke has now vowed to clear his name. He says he has 'nothing to be ashamed of'.

"I'm not going to drop my head," he said.

"I will come home, rebuild my life again and prepare for the appeal trial. "I will go back to work – I have nothing to hide or be ashamed of."

Luke, who works with his father Patrick's electrical company, said he had been 'pretty devastated' by the verdict.

"I'm lost for words – it's not really sunk in yet," he added.

Family hunt for Facebook troll

Convicted killer Luke Walker and his father are on the hunt for an 'internet troll' they suspect of writing 'fake' letters to a Greek court, helping to convince jurors to find him guilty.

West Midlands Police are likely to be asked to probe whether a 'troll' who plagued a Facebook site protesting Luke's innocence is the same person who wrote to the court in Crete.

Luke and his father Patrick, from Brierley Hill, think that a 'Peter Rogers' and a woman identified only as 'Jessie' – alleged authors of documents produced in the trial – are the same person.

And, if they can prove the letters were forged or faked, they hope it will help to swing an appeal court to overturn the jury's verdict that 25-year-old Luke was guilty of grievous bodily harm, causing the death of his girlfriend Chelsea Hyndman, aged 20, in Crete three years ago.

Mr Walker, 57, who runs Walker's Electrics in Brierley Hill, said: "We've got an idea that both letters were from the same internet troll, who we think is a woman.

"She was trolling when the Facebook site was up and she started being aggressive. I can't remember what exactly she said – it was just malice, things about Luke and Chelsea."

Organisers of the site later removed the comments made by the troll – a term for a person who leaves malicious or inflammatory statements on websites.