‘Skeletal’ body of man who lay dead in Bolton flat for six years discovered

Robert Alton, 70, is believed to have died in 2017 with his death going unnoticed by his landlord and local council

The body of a retired bookkeeper lay undiscovered in his flat for six years with his “skeletal” remains found only after housing officials forced entry to carry out a gas safety check, an inquest heard.

Robert Alton is believed to have died in 2017 aged 70, but his death went unnoticed by both his landlord, which continued to receive his rent automatically through housing benefit, and his local council, which seemingly failed to act on Alton’s mounting council tax arrears.