A pensioner lay dead in his home for SIX years before his skeletal remains were found - after his landlord obtained a court order to enter and check the gas supply. The body of Robert Alton, who was 70, was discovered inside his flat on Hemsworth Road in Bolton on March 9 this year.
An inquest into his death concluded he 'likely' died in May, 2017, said his landlord Bolton at Home in a statement after a coroner recorded an open verdict. The housing association owns, manages and maintains more than 18,000 homes across the town.
Its chief executive officer said in a statement after the inquest 'it's completely unacceptable to us that something like this has happened' - and admitted the organisation should have done more to check on Mr Alton's welfare.
