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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.
A year after the death, a mobile council warden was called to inspect the flat after complaints of a terrible smell.
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 in 2008 after Mr Derrick moved out of the property, the inquest heard.This article is from the BBC News website. ? British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.