OH WELL, IT WASN’T A LIFE WORTH LIVING ANYWAY

Forgotten man lay dead in flat for six years (Vikram Dodd and Ali Hussain, The Guardian, April 6th, 2005)

A man lay dead in his council flat for almost six years before being discovered, an inquest heard yesterday.

The fully clothed skeletal remains of Kenneth Mann, 63, were found last June on his bed in Walsall, West Midlands. He had last been seen in 1998 after being admitted to hospital.

Richard Balmain, the coroner, said the former soldier seemed to have fallen through the net: "Society needs to ask how such a situation could arise in the 21st century."

A succession of official agencies had gone to the door of the first-floor flat as Mann lay already dead. The inquest heard that a police officer had called, and so had bailiffs for the water company after bills went unpaid. Likewise there were attempted visits by his doctor, the Benefits Agency, and housing officials chasing unpaid rent.

His brother had tried to visit. His neighbour across the hallway had not noticed anything wrong, the inquest heard. [...]

Mr Mann said that after his brother's release from hospital he had called round at 9pm one evening but had found him "out". He assumed he was in the pub. He added that he had heard rumours that his brother had gone to a home, but says he was limited in what he could do because he cared for a child with disabilities and worked full-time.

Officials who called at the flat, one of four in the block, were told by neighbours that he either must have moved or was dead. No one decided to find out for sure. [...]

Annie Shepperd, the chief executive of Walsall council, said in a statement that lessons had been learned: "Kenneth Mann died alone - friendless and isolated from his family. This is the sad and shocking story of the lonely death of a man whose life was disintegrating."

She said without family, friends, church, neighbours or landlords keeping in touch, Mann had been failed by society.

Society should be sent to bed early without supper