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  1. #1

    R.I.P.


    dirtydog's Avatar
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    England - Dead body under sofa for 10 years

    Body lay under sofa for 10 years in shared Bristol flat


    Alan Derrick was worried about being evicted

    A body lay undiscovered under a sofa in a sheltered flat in Bristol for nearly 10 years, an inquest has heard.

    The dead man, Denis Pring, 73, had been living with city council tenant Alan Derrick, who has learning difficulties.

    The inquest heard Mr Derrick did not want to tell the authorities that Mr Pring had died because he was worried he would be evicted.

    The coroner recorded an open verdict into Mr Pring's death at the hearing in Flax Bourton, near Bristol.

    Mr Pring is believed to have died at some point between April and June 1998.
    The inquest heard that he had been living in the flat unofficially.

    Mr Derrick, the dead man's friend and drinking partner, had invited him to stay there because he had nowhere else to go.

    But when he died suddenly, Mr Derrick panicked and worried that he might be evicted.

    A year after the death, a mobile council warden was called to inspect the flat after complaints of a terrible smell.
    Neighbours complained about the smell from the flat

    Sandra Wedlock told the court that she had walked by an overturned sofa at the property in the Bedminster area of the city without noticing the body underneath it.

    She put the source of the smell that neighbours had complained about down to an overflowing toilet and no further action was taken by the council.

    Mr Pring's skeleton was finally discovered by council cleaning staff in 2008 after Mr Derrick moved out of the property, the inquest heard.

    Mr Derrick, who was described by neighbours as 'a vulnerable loner', is believed to be living elsewhere in the area. No criminal charges were brought against him.

    Residents groups said the case proves there is a need for more live-in wardens to supervise sheltered accommodation.

    Jon House, Bristol City Council's deputy chief executive, expressed his condolences and 'apologised unreservedly' to Mr Pring's family and the neighbours for the distress they suffered.

    New protocols have been put in place to support vulnerable people, and large numbers of our staff have been trained accordingly


    Jon House, Bristol City Council

    "I want to acknowledge that a more active intervention nine or 10 years ago, and a healthier dose of common sense, might have stopped Mr Pring laying undiscovered," he said.

    "Although, as was acknowledged in court, his body was actively concealed by the tenant.

    "What I think is most important now is that we demonstrate that we have long since learned from this experience.

    "New protocols have been put in place to support vulnerable people, and large numbers of our staff have been trained accordingly.

    "Although we'll continue to respect people's right to the quiet enjoyment of their home, where they are vulnerable and cannot cope (and in some cases cause a nuisance or health hazard to their neighbours), we will intervene as necessary to stop things spiralling out of control."


  2. #2
    Thailand Expat
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    Quote Originally Posted by dirtydog
    expressed his condolences and 'apologised unreservedly' to Mr Pring's family and the neighbours for the distress they suffered.
    Yeh right. Not noticing he was dead for a decade.
    Definitely a compo job for emotional distress.
    And you wonder why asian people feel sorry for us.

  3. #3
    loob lor geezer
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    Takes sweeping problems under the carpet to a completely new level.

  4. #4
    Member Kapilvastu's Avatar
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    Sheltered housing is provided for vulnerable people, who need supervision and support. It is also somtimes called Assisted Living. It is a norm that every sheltered resident is seen by the warden at least once a day. What kind of supervision and support was Mr Derrik getting from Bristol City? This makes a mockery of the notion of 'sheltered housing.'

  5. #5
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    is that the corpse or the other tenant?

  6. #6
    Thaiguy
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    Bloody Poms couldn't smell the difference between a dead body and unwashed armpits?

  7. #7
    Have you got any cheese Thetyim's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kapilvastu
    It is a norm that every sheltered resident is seen by the warden at least once a day.
    Quote Originally Posted by dirtydog
    The inquest heard that he had been living in the flat unofficially.
    Helps to read the OP

  8. #8
    JoeMoer
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    Very odd.

  9. #9
    Eric
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    This stinks, I hope the whole issue is dead and buried soon.

  10. #10
    En route
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    Must've been a bit of a pong in the house for the first few months.

  11. #11
    Eric
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    ^ don't blame it on that Thai girl Pong

  12. #12
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    Proves that theory...

  13. #13
    Pronce. PH said so AGAIN!
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    "Villains!" I shrieked, "dissemble no more! I admit the deed! -- tear up the planks! -- here, here! -- it is the beating of his hideous heart!"

  14. #14
    Thailand Expat
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    Quote Originally Posted by sabang View Post
    And you wonder why asian people feel sorry for us.
    Yes.

    Leaving him there to decompose instead of eating him for medicinal purposes.

    Farang baa mahk.

  15. #15
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    Poe, very good


    Quote Originally Posted by dirtydog
    A year after the death, a mobile council warden was called to inspect the flat after complaints of a terrible smell.
    It takes a year for a body to decompose? Lucky they had a 'mobile' council warden

  16. #16
    Pronce. PH said so AGAIN!
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    Quote Originally Posted by dirtydog
    Sandra Wedlock told the court that she had walked by an overturned sofa at the property in the Bedminster area of the city without noticing the body underneath it.

    She put the source of the smell that neighbours had complained about down to an overflowing toilet and no further action was taken by the council.
    You know you have a shitty job when it involves going into houses that smell so bad the rotting corpse under the sofa acts as an air-freshener.

  17. #17
    Thailand Expat
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    She is looking for an offensive smell and did not look under a overturned sofa!

    She is probably the councils chief forensic evironmental scientist now.

    The warden should hand back his wages for the last ten years .

    Did nobody notice the dead man had not drawn his state pension for 10 years? = £75,000 inc benefits ........................or had they?

    Lots of questions here..

  18. #18
    I am in Jail

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    Very sad I heard this on radio and it said in old onner city part called Bedminster.
    Something pretty weird / wired with Council visitor neighbours relative.I only have to have a couple of extra Leos down the still and the whole village knows.

    Obviously no virtual community more like Bleak Door

  19. #19
    Pronce. PH said so AGAIN!
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    Quote Originally Posted by PaddyGreen
    Very sad I heard this on radio and it said in old onner city part called Bedminster. Something pretty weird / wired with Council visitor neighbours relative.I only have to have a couple of extra Leos down the still and the whole village knows. Obviously no virtual community more like Bleak Door
    I have read that three times and I still don't understand it.

    I recognise the words, I think most of them are even English, but the order they are written makes my brain hurt.

  20. #20
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    Quite apart from what happened subsequesntly, it's a cruel old world when someone can die, rot away under a sofa for ten years and not only does no one notice but no one missed him either. That's weird, even for Bristol.

  21. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by slackula View Post
    "Villains!" I shrieked, "dissemble no more! I admit the deed! -- tear up the planks! -- here, here! -- it is the beating of his hideous heart!"
    I smiled, -- for what had I to fear? I bade the gentlemen welcome. The shriek, I said, was my own in a dream. The old man, I mentioned, was absent in the country. I took my visitors all over the house. I bade them search -- search well. I led them, at length, to his chamber. I showed them his treasures, secure, undisturbed. In the enthusiasm of my confidence, I brought chairs into the room, and desired them here to rest from their fatigues, while I myself, in the wild audacity of my perfect triumph, placed my own seat upon the very spot beneath which reposed the corpse of the victim.

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