‘UNACCEPTABLE’

U.K. Man’s Body Found in His Home Six Years After He Died

Authorities determined he likely passed away in May 2017, but he wasn’t discovered until this March.

A U.K. man’s body has been discovered in his home six years after he died there. Robert Alton was found dead in his home in Bolton on March 9, and investigations by the police and coroner determined he likely passed away in May 2017. Housing association Bolton at Home has apologized in a recent statement after it learned that his body remained undiscovered at the home for six years. Although the association said it had made several attempts to reach Alton for gas safety checks before shutting the supply off, Group Chief Executive Officer Noel Sharpe said in the statement that the organization’s protocol “wasn’t strong enough to prevent something like this [from] happening.” Since 2022, Bolton at Home can now obtain a warrant to check in on someone in their home if they cannot be contacted for gas safety checks, a change that allowed for officials to discover Alton’s body this year. “It’s completely unacceptable to us that something like this has happened, and we’ve taken action to reduce the risk of it happening again,” Sharpe said.