A woman found dead in her bathroom was “distressed” about an ongoing leak which had turned her kitchen floor into a swamp, according to a neighbour.
Jeffrey Frimpong, 35, who lived below the woman on the Tabard Gardens estate in Southwark, London, has told how she'd tried to contact the council about the issue but was ignored. The dad visited the house in March to investigate a leak which was dripping into his home.
My London reports that he found the woman's kitchen and hallway flooded with water. Jeffrey told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “I went into her house on March 9 2022 and there was water all on the floor and the water was covering the kitchen floor and the hallway.
"She was distressed because of the state of the leak and the state of the property. It was terrible. She told me that she tried to contact the council herself and she said no one was helping.”
When the water started to drip into a cupboard where his gas meter was located, Mr Frimpong decided to call the council's emergency hotline. A council employee attended the property and had to force entry to the property.
The body of the woman was found in the bathroom of the flat on Friday, January 6. It is unclear how long she had been there.
Jeffrey said: “The carpenter opened the door and that’s when I saw the body on the floor in the bathroom. We struggled to open the door because of the letters and I saw her hair hanging out from the bathroom door.”
Despite emailing Southwark Council weekly for nine months about the leak, he says no one came to visit the property. He continued: “I was getting nowhere. They [Southwark] kept saying they couldn’t access her property without going through the courts. It was at least every other day I was messaging them by September. That’s when I contacted complaints because nothing was being done about the leak.
“Her body was there in the bathroom and my bathroom is directly below hers. Water was dripping into my bathroom from hers and if her body was in the water then who knows what was leaking into our bathroom."
Emergency services were called to the South London property following the discovery of the body. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police are not treating the death as suspicious.
Cllr Darren Merrill, Southwark Council’s cabinet member for council homes and homelessness, said: “I am incredibly saddened that a woman has been found dead in one of our council properties, and extend my heartfelt condolences to her family and friends.
“We are supporting the police in establishing the exact circumstances, and thoroughly checking all records the council holds in relation to this property and the tenant.
"I know this is an extremely upsetting situation for people living in the block, and I want to reassure them that we will offer as much support as we can.”
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