A British housing association has apologized after discovering the body of a tenant in his home perhaps six years after his death.
“Everyone at Bolton at Home has been deeply shocked by this, and we realize it will worry and shock people to learn that her body has remained undiscovered for so long,” said Noel Sharpe, chief executive of Bolton At Home.
“It is completely unacceptable to us that something like this should happen and we have taken steps to reduce the risk of it happening again,” Sharpe added. “The reason we haven’t discovered Robert’s death for so long is because our previous procedure, while meeting the legal requirements, was not strong enough to prevent something like this from happening.”
The charity discovered Robert Alton’s body in his apartment. A coroner ruled that Alton would die in 2017 at the age of 70, his death going unnoticed as he continued to pay rent through automatic rent payments funded by housing subsidies.
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Hemsworth Road in Bolton, where Robert Alton was found dead after six years in his home. (Google Maps)
Sharpe said the association found Alton after making a series of attempts to contact him and arrange gas safety checks.
“Opportunities were missed to pinpoint that something was potentially wrong,” Sharpe added.
Association officials also discovered a 1.5-foot stack of unopened mail, 2017 expired food and reading glasses on a TV guide for May 4, 2017, The Guardian reported.
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A police investigation concluded no suspicious circumstances involved in Alton’s death, but could not determine a cause of death.
“Based on the odds, Mr. Alton died in May 2017,” said Peter Sigee, the coroner. “I am convinced that the appropriate conclusion is an open conclusion.”
The association changed its procedures on collecting council taxes, which allowed it to gain immediate access to his home and discover his body.
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Sharpe said the association offered “heartfelt condolences” to Alton’s family and apologized for missing any signs something was wrong, the BBC reported.
Bolton council said Alton’s death was a “tragic case which has had a profound impact on the entire Bolton community”.
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“We are currently reviewing Mr Alton’s account to identify any missed opportunities to act sooner,” the council added.
“Pending the outcome of this review, appropriate additional measures will be put in place in order to prevent similar tragic cases in the future.”
