Cornes attended Pershore High School, before beginning his career as a trainee with Championship club Wolverhampton Wanderers, turning professional in July 2004. He joined League One side Port Vale on loan in August 2005, making his debut on 28 August in Vale's goalless draw at Milton Keynes Dons – picking up the man of the match award in the process. He scored both goals against Oldham Athletic on 28 September, and followed this by getting goals against Walsall and Swindon Town, leaving him with a streak of four goals in three games. He returned to Molineux at the end of November, having scored four times in eleven first team appearances for the "Valiants". In February 2006 Cornes tested positive for cocaine and was given a six-month ban. Initially Wolves stood by him and allowed him to continue training. However, in September 2006 his contract was cancelled by mutual consent. At the end of his ban in October 2006 he joined Conference North side Worcester City, and two months later signed until the end of the season. However, he fell out of favour and joined Northern Premier League Premier Division side Telford United on loan in March 2007, helping Telford to promotion to the Conference North via the play-offs. He turned down interest from a number of league clubs to sign a one-year contract with Telford in May 2007. He terminated his contract with Telford in January 2008, with the club and Cornes coming towards the end of a club disciplinary process. He joined Bromsgrove Rovers in the Southern League Premier Division later that month, aiming for a fresh start. The club were relegated at the end of the 2007–08 campaign, and Cornes decided to leave when new manager Rod Brown took charge in October 2008. Later that month he joined Stourport Swifts in the Southern League Division One Central, along with his former Bromsgrove manager Duane Darby. In July 2009, he was released the Swifts, his fitness an issue. He promptly returned to old club Worcester City for pre-season training. Worcester loaned him out to Evesham United in August 2009, before he re-signed with Stourport six weeks into his loan spell. In June 2010 he joined Conference North side Redditch United. Two months later he switched clubs to Midland Football Alliance outfit Malvern Town. At the end of the 2010–11 campaign Malvern were relegated to the West Midlands League. He later played for Littleton in the Midland Combination.
Style of play
Stourport manager Neil Hunt described him as "a playmaker, he doesn't track back or run around but his quality on the ball is undeniable."
Later life
Cornes was arrested in May 2015 for possession of class A drugs with intent to supply and money laundering after £40,000 of high purity cocaine and "a substantial amount of cash" was found in the back of a car in Worcester. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to four years and four months.
