England's batsmen, resuming on 119 for 4 after the rest day, lasted until mid-afternoon on the final day at Bourda on Tuesday but were eventually bowled out for 190, giving West Indies victory by an innings and 44 runs.
Curtly Ambrose and Kenneth Benjamin did most of the damage with four wickets apiece, giving Ambrose a match haul of eight victims, after Alec Stewart had added only seven runs to his overnight score of 72.
England now moves back to Trinidad for the Third Test starting Friday with morale at a low ebb and team manager Keith Fletcher admitting there is little light at the end of the tunnel.
Brian Lara was named man-of-the-match for his fine innings of 167 out of West Indies' massive total of 556 which made England's fate largely inevitable on a slow, low pitch.
England skipper Michael Atherton admitted his side's first innings effort of 322 had not been "a standard score for the wicket" in the conditions and is looking for considerable improvement from both bowlers and batsmen in Port of Spain.
"If you look at the scorecard, too many batsmen are getting single figure scores. There has not been enough consistency," he said. "Hopefully there might be English-like conditions in Trinidad for the first couple of days to give our bowlers some much-needed encouragement."
After Monday's rest day and with a perfect weather forecast, the tourists' fortunes hinged on Stewart and Graham Thorpe, the last two remaining recognized batsmen, surviving until lunch.
In the event, the Surrey pair were both back in the pavilion long before the interval and wicketkeeper Jack Russell was another casualty as England tottered to 161 for 7 at the break.Chris Lewis and Ian Salisbury gave their side some respite with a resolute stand of 45 for the eighth wicket, but once Lewis perished to a sharp catch at short-leg, the end was predictably swift.
It was England's 11th defeat in their last 13 tests and although fast bowler Devon Malcolm rejoins his teammates this week he will not be available for the Third Test. By the time he is fit enough to be considered, England may already have conceded the series.
The West Indian bowlers have looked a class above their English counterparts so far and Ambrose is running into form after a quiet First Test in Jamaica.
His final match analysis was 8 for 95, but it was Benjamin who hastened England's demise on the final day.
He produced a near-unplayable shooter to remove Stewart and removed Lewis and Angus Fraser in the space of three balls, interspersed only by a wide, to end with 4 for 34.
Courtney Walsh finished off the match by bowling Salisbury, who had occupied the crease for two hours, and allowed his captain Richie Richardson the last laugh following his much-criticized decision to bowl first on the first day.
The West Indian selectors have unsurprisingly named the same 13-man squad for the next test. Guyanese teenager Shivnarine Chanderpaul keeps his place, with Phil Simmons and Anderson Cummins also retained.
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