A man has been jailed for hiding a dead body in a wheelie bin in Liverpool.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said that Steven Wales, 60, from the Everton area of Liverpool, concealed the body of Paul Smith after he had died in a bath after taking drugs.

He pleaded guilty to a charge of preventing the lawful and decent burial of a dead body at Liverpool Crown Court on 7 August 2026 and was sentenced today, 26 August 2026, to 28 months in jail.

Mr Smith had been taking drugs with Steven Wales at Wales’s home during the weekend of 19 and 20 July 2025.

Mr Smith's brother reported him missing on the evening of Monday 21 July 2025.

The following day, Wales called 999 and reported that a man had died from a drug overdose in his bath two days earlier.

Police attended his home and Wales told officers he had moved Mr Smith’s body, placed it in a wheelie bin and concealed it in a nearby garden. He said he had panicked because he was on licence and did not want to return to prison.

Wales led police to an overgrown garden, where the wheelie bin was found. Some attempt had been made to conceal it with discarded items including plant growth and a piece of furniture.

When interviewed, Wales said Mr Smith had gone to his home at the weekend and that they had taken drugs together. Wales said he left his home and returned a couple of hours later to find Mr Smith apparently dead in the bath, under the water.

Senior Crown Prosecutor Adrian Evans of CPS Mersey-Cheshire said: “For almost two days, Steven Wales failed to alert anyone to the circumstances surrounding Mr Smith’s death.

“Instead, acting selfishly and callously, he chose to hide the body in a nearby wheelie bin.

“Wales has a long criminal record and was on licence at the time. He did what he did to avoid going back to prison. Our thoughts are with the family of Mr Smith.”