The body of a pensioner lay in his flat for over six years before skeletal remains were discovered. Robert Alton, who was 70 at the time of his death, was found in an apartment on Hemsworth Road in Bolton in March.
An inquest into the elderly man's death found he 'likely' died in May 2017, according to a coroner. Mr Alton was only discovered when the landlord obtained a court order to enter and check the gas supply into his home, reports the Manchester Evening News.
The housing association that manages his property say it was 'completely unacceptable' that it had happened on Bolton at Home's watch. In a statement CEO Noel Sharpe says they took 'many attempts' to contact Mr Alton 'over a number of years'.
The inquest heard there was no response from the occupant and rent was paid through housing benefits. Greater Manchester Police did not find Mr Alton's death suspicious.
Mrs Sharpe said the 'reason' Mr Alton's death wasn't discovered sooner was 'our previous procedure, while meeting legal requirements, wasn't strong enough to prevent something like this happening'.
The company's policy, which was changed in July last year to allow for legal warrants to gain access to tenants' homes where they cannot be contacted. It was this shift in action that led to the discovery of the skeletal remains.
She said in a statement: "On 9 March 2023 we learned of the death of our tenant Robert Alton after his body was discovered at his home in Hemsworth Road, Bolton. The subsequent police and coroner's investigation has concluded Robert’s death was not suspicious and that he likely died in May 2017.
"Everyone at Bolton at Home has been deeply shocked by this and we realise it will concern and upset people to learn his body remained undiscovered for such a long time. It’s completely unacceptable to us that something like this has happened, and we've taken action to reduce the risk of it happening again.
"The reason we didn't discover Robert's death for so long is because our previous procedure, while meeting legal requirements, wasn't strong enough to prevent something like this happening.
"We made many attempts to contact Robert over a number of years to arrange gas safety checks. It's clear that the action taken by us to understand why we couldn't contact him didn’t go far enough. Opportunities were missed in spotting that something was potentially wrong. We should have done more to check on Robert's welfare.
"We changed our procedure in July 2022, and we now immediately begin the process of seeking access to someone's home via a warrant in instances where we cannot contact them to arrange a gas safety check. It was this change and subsequent review of previous instances that ultimately led to us seeking a warrant to access Robert's home and discovering his body.
"The change to our procedure significantly reduces the risk of something like this from happening again. In addition, we’re also taking steps to enable our tenancy support team to work more closely with our gas safety team where we’re struggling to gain access to a property and where there may be welfare concerns.
"We're also exploring what else we might be able to do to further reduce the risk of this being repeated.
"I would like to offer our heartfelt condolences to Robert's loved ones, friends and neighbours and apologise to them for the opportunities we missed in finding out why we couldn’t contact him."
The recorded an open verdict and no relatives have been traced since, despite police issuing an appeal for any to come forward after his death.
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