The mummified body of an elderly man was found on the toilet in his council flat - up to a year and a half after he died, an inquest has heard.
Wandsworth Council's system was called into question as Westminster coroner Dr Paul Knapman asked why no one noticed Kenneth Barker's death sooner.
Police discovered the 62-year-old's corpse, along with that of his decomposed cat, at his home in Carslake Road, Putney, in February after a neighbour reported a bad smell
Mr Barker had not paid rent since October 2006, but council officials had not checked whether he was still alive.
advertisement
An earlier hearing heard grim details of the body's mummified condition.
Dr Peter Wilkins said: "The external skin was firm and had the appearance of parchment. The organs had mummified as well."
Three council employees were called to the resumed inquest last week, where no friends or family of Mr Barker attended.
Rent collector Beverley Patrice-Farrell said numerous unanswered letters were sent before she began working for the council last September. She visited the Ashburton Estate property in person three times, once with a notice to seek possession.
She said: "I visited again in December, I opened the letter box, looked around. I couldn't smell a thing."
Mrs Patrice-Farrell said she contacted other council departments about Mr Barker several times because of her concerns.
Dr Knapman then asked head of rent collection Faria Siblon: "Would you agree that it's a very unsatisfactory situation for somebody, if it's true, to be dead in a council flat for one-and-a-half years, not paying rent?"
She replied: "It's unsatisfactory, yes."
As alcoholic Mr Barker's rent was largely covered by housing benefit, his arrears of £265 made him a low priority among the council's 10,000 cases.
Mrs Siblon said it was not the "prime focus" of the rent collection service to alert other departments to problems, and there was no set procedure for doing so.
She admitted there had been a shortage of staff, but that the problem is being remedied.
Dr Knapman said there had been other similar cases involving Wandsworth and also highlighted the authority's low council tax rate - possibly the lowest in the country.
He said: "It may be that we will seek clarification from very senior people just to see if there is any way that we can put in place, at reasonable cost, some sort of system."
The case will be reviewed in private on June 2 and a verdict recorded at a later date.
So how come no one bothered about the fact he didn't pay rent for 1.5 years?
I missed a single £43 council tax payment, due to a processing error, and a month later got a summons through the door.
How does that work? Oh, silly me. It's Wandsworth Council we're talking about.
So how come no one bothered about the fact he didn't pay rent for 1.5 years?
I missed a single £43 council tax payment, due to a processing error, and a month later got a summons through the door.
How does that work? Oh, silly me. It's Wandsworth Council we're talking about.
Well it is really! Surely anything over 50 means that you are. OK then when is the cut off point. I know people are living a lot longer now so if he had lived to be 100 would he be middle aged? My mum is 64 this year and I would consider her elderly. My dad definitely is at 67! I don't like to think of them that way but I suppose it depends what the health is like and how vital they are as to whether you class them as elderly or not.
Well it is really! Surely anything over 50 means that you are. OK then when is the cut off point. I know people are living a lot longer now so if he had lived to be 100 would he be middle aged? My mum is 64 this year and I would consider her elderly. My dad definitely is at 67! I don't like to think of them that way but I suppose it depends what the health is like and how vital they are as to whether you class them as elderly or not.
Posted by: Dennis, Portland OR (US) on 2:26am Fri 16 May 08
leighann: It's a condition we in emergency services dispatching sometimes refer to as "a constipation coronary." It is not that rare, either. Docusate sodium tablets can help alleviate the condition.
leighann: It's a condition we in emergency services dispatching sometimes refer to as "a constipation coronary." It is not that rare, either. Docusate sodium tablets can help alleviate the condition.
[quote][bold]leighann[/bold] wrote:
**** disgusting!! How the **** can u get a heart attack on a bloody **** toilet!!! was he **** to hard or something???!!!![/quote] The only disgusting thing here is you, leighann.
I was going to call you thick, then I saw Carshalton and thought I'd save myself the bother.
They guy was an alcoholic. Alcohol affects the bloodstream, increases blood pressure. Causes haem...oh, why am I bothering??
Once a thicko, always a thicko.
leighann wrote:
**** disgusting!! How the **** can u get a heart attack on a bloody **** toilet!!! was he **** to hard or something???!!!!
The only disgusting thing here is you, leighann.
I was going to call you thick, then I saw Carshalton and thought I'd save myself the bother.
They guy was an alcoholic. Alcohol affects the bloodstream, increases blood pressure. Causes haem...oh, why am I bothering??
Posted by: oli, carshalton on 11:58am Wed 21 May 08
[quote][bold]Jock[/bold] wrote:
[quote][bold]leighann[/bold] wrote:
**** disgusting!! How the **** can u get a heart attack on a bloody **** toilet!!! was he **** to hard or something???!!!![/quote] The only disgusting thing here is you, leighann.
I was going to call you thick, then I saw Carshalton and thought I'd save myself the bother.
They guy was an alcoholic. Alcohol affects the bloodstream, increases blood pressure. Causes haem...oh, why am I bothering??
Once a thicko, always a thicko.[/quote] errr what the **** are you on about saying carshalton residents are thick? and what kind of name is jock? coz ur a big meat head LOL
BEEEEEEEEEEEF HEADDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
get a life[bold]bold[/bold]
Jock wrote:
leighann wrote:
**** disgusting!! How the **** can u get a heart attack on a bloody **** toilet!!! was he **** to hard or something???!!!!
The only disgusting thing here is you, leighann.
I was going to call you thick, then I saw Carshalton and thought I'd save myself the bother.
They guy was an alcoholic. Alcohol affects the bloodstream, increases blood pressure. Causes haem...oh, why am I bothering??
Once a thicko, always a thicko.
errr what the **** are you on about saying carshalton residents are thick? and what kind of name is jock? coz ur a big meat head LOL
If you liked this article and would like to share it with others on the web who might be searching for good content we've made it easy for you to do it.
At the bottom of all articles, you'll see links to six sites. These sites - commonly called 'social bookmark' or 'social news' sites - have large communities of web users who share and rate interesting, useful and fun things on the web.
Clicking the links will automatically add the address of the story you are reading to one of these sites, letting you share it with others. Each site will ask you to register to share stories. Registration is free and once a member, you can store, recommend and search for stories that interest you.
Print
Email this
Comment
