The skeleton of Simon Allen was found in the lounge of his city centre Brighton flat. A loner lay dead in his city centre flat for two years after no one realized he had passed away, an inquest heard.
The skeletal remains of Simon Allen were only discovered when deep cleaners went to his home.
His body – wearing just a pair of socks – was found lying behind an armchair in the living room of the flat in Brighton, East Sussex, in November. Eleven days earlier his landlord and bailiffs had gone to the first-floor property to check why his rent had not been paid for several months.
Neighbors said there had been a ‘musty smell’ in the hallway outside the flat before his body was found, but nothing more unusual than that.
Police said they believed that Mr Allen had died in December 2010 when he would have been aged around 50.
They were unable to trace any family or friends and found few personal items in the flat, which Mr Allen had rented since 1999.
Paul Hanscomb, 45, who lives in a neighboring ground floor flat, said: ‘I hadn't seen him for about two years.
‘He was a heavy drinker and I used to hear him banging around in the hallway and up the stairs when he came home at night.
‘But we all keep ourselves to ourselves here and we thought he’d moved out.’
Chris Dunbar, who also lives in a first floor flat, added: ‘It was a shock.
‘I think it’s quite sad really and maybe should have been investigated a bit sooner.’
He said there was a slight musty smell in the hallway before Mr Allen’s body was discovered, but ‘nothing strong’.
The Brighton inquest heard that Mr Allen slept on two chairs pushed together and only used his bedroom for storage.
Mr Allen’s body was discovered behind an armchair in Leopold Road, Brighton two years after he passed away
Affinity Sutton, the housing association who owned his flat, said he was ‘a model tenant’.
Tracy Evans, head of housing in the south for Affinity Sutton, said: ‘We were deeply saddened to hear of the death of Mr Allen.
‘There was no indication that there were any problems nor that he had any additional support needs and he was a model tenant.
‘Sadly, despite repeatedly trying to contact Mr Allen, the alarm was not raised until significant rent arrears had built up in 2012.’
Police said there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding the death and it was impossible to say how he died.
Coroner Veronica Hamilton-Deeley said she was ‘particularly saddened’ that a relatively young man had not been missed.
She added: ‘There is no suggestion that anybody should or could have done anything different in relation to their dealings with Mr Allen.
‘It seems that he chose his somewhat reclusive lifestyle.’
Mr Allen was given a welfare funeral, provided for people who have no known family or friends to arrange the burial or cremation.
The number of welfare funerals in Brighton has more than doubled in the last five years, from 36 in 2006/7 to 79 in 2011/12.
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