A hairdresser has been found guilty of deliberately trying to infect 10 men with HIV after meeting them on Grindr.

Daryll Rowe was convicted of five counts of grievous bodily harm with intent, and five counts of attempting to do so on Wednesday afternoon at Lewes Crown Court.

The jury of seven women and five men returned its verdicts after 18 hours deliberating.

The court was silent, and 27-year-old Rowe sat motionless, as the verdicts were announced just before 4pm.

Initially four unanimous verdicts – three of grievous bodily harm with intent and one of attempting to cause grievous bodily harm – were returned.

Daryl Rowe: Prosecution brand hairdresser a 'comfortable liar'

Judge Christine Henson QC asked the jury to retire to continue deliberations after the foreman said they had been unable to all agree on verdicts for the remaining six counts.

Moments later, the 12 returned to court to find Rowe guilty by majority verdicts of 11 to one of all the other counts he faced – two of grievous bodily harm with intent, and four of attempting to do so.

The Herald:

DARYLL ROWE: 'VEGAN HIPPIE' WITH A NASTY SIDE

Daryll Rowe was described as a man with two sides to his personality.

He presented himself as a charming, obliging, softly spoken "vegan hippie" who was looking for love and a relationship.

But he was painted in court as someone who could become a "nasty, angry individual" and embarked on a "cynical" and "deliberate" campaign to infect male lovers with HIV.

Originally from Edinburgh, he was taken into care at a young age and fostered from the age of seven, he left school after taking his GCSEs and trained as a hairdresser at college.

Daryl Rowe: Prosecution brand hairdresser a 'comfortable liar'

He came out as gay at the age of 15, in the same year he experienced his first sexual encounter. He travelled to Australia for a year to visit his brothers in Perth before moving back to Edinburgh to work.

Rowe told how he had learned to cope with panic attacks and anxiety through meditation, practised yoga and took a keen interest in healthy living.

He became a vegan after turning vegetarian at the age of 18 and said he chose to move to Brighton because of its gay and vegan-friendly atmosphere.

The 27-year-old was "very spiritual" and lived by the mantra of "love, life and positivity". He loved star signs, likening himself with characteristics of his Libra symbol of being "relationship orientated", artistic, creative and balanced.

When he was diagnosed with HIV in April 2015 he claimed he coped well with the news and did not feel anger towards whoever had infected him.

After reading articles about the practice online, he tried urine therapy in a bid to rid himself of the illness. This eventually saw him drinking his own urine every morning and regularly throughout the day, he claimed.

This was supplemented with a whole range of natural remedies, oregano, coconut and olive leaf oils, which were reported online as also helping to combat HIV, he claimed.

He told the court he truly believed he had been cured of the virus by the time he moved to Brighton, even though he had not taken any medical tests to back this up or had this confirmed by a doctor.

The prosecution stripped away his "obliging" and unassuming persona, branding him a cruel and calculating liar.

He denied any memory of doctors warning him of the dangers of carrying the virus, how infectious he was, or the legal implications of infecting others. He did not take blood tests after his diagnosis to find out how infectious he was and did not read literature he was given warning him to learn more about the virus.

He said he refused to take antiretroviral drugs recommended by doctors because he did not trust them and he was unsure how the treatment would affect his body.

But he admitted taking prescribed medication in the year before he was diagnosed, after contracting gonorrhoea, genital warts and herpes. He admitted the treatment helped but insisted the warts were only cured after he used apple cider vinegar in addition.

Caroline Carberry QC, prosecuting, suggested he was vain and picked apart his claims of living a natural lifestyle when it emerged he would use fillers to plump up his top lip. He said he was told this was a synthetic version of acid naturally found in the body so he was comfortable with having the injections.

Rowe described Grindr as a gay dating app he used to look for relationships and companionship rather than casual sex.

He told how he was looking for like-minded people who shared his interests of Marvel comics, Pokemon and Buffy the Vampire Slayer and wanted to avoid men who were heavy drinkers or "on the scene" regularly out at gay clubs.

Daryl Rowe: Prosecution brand hairdresser a 'comfortable liar'

But the court heard how Rowe sent a string of "horrible" and "cruel" text messages to several of his victims once they had been romantically involved and had been "playing" with them when they became concerned and questioned his HIV status.

He claimed he struggled to keep his emotions in check and found it hard to copy with rejection, especially after a previous partner cheated on him, and repeatedly denied intentionally tormenting them.

He even accused his victims of lying when they told police and jury he had said he was free of the virus before they had sex.