Hayles was born in London and was living in Australia by 1941 and working in as an artist and in advertising in Melbourne.

He worked as a freelance illustrator after the war, mostly for KG Murray's magazines. He created the 'Wilbur male figure in Man and provided cartoons and illustrations for most of the magazine’s run. In the first year of Murray's Adam (1946), he drew a colour double-page cartoon featuring a modern Adam and Eve.

For Murray, Hayles also created several long-form comics during the late 1940s—Many out of Space, Fort Zero and Swords of Spain. However, most of his comics work is single page humour strips (Sir Blight; Cap't. Jonah; Silas P Scuttle--Sheriff of Sage Bush City; Major Marmaduke the Eccentric Explorer).

In 1952, Hayles joined the Melbourne Herald as an illustration and cartoon artist.

Hayles succeeded illustrator Peter James on the comic strip Mike Manly—Miracle Man written by children's author Ivan Southall, which was published in full colour in Woman's Day from 25 January 1954. Vernon work on the series from 1955 until it finished in 1956.

For about a year in the 1970s, Hayles was the last illustrator to work on the iconic Wally and the Major before the strip ended.

Hayles painted covers for Colorgravure Publications (Readers Book Club). He also painted a mural of prehistoric animals for the entryway of the old Museum Victoria.

He retired in 1977 and died in 1990 aged 77.