Dog eats dead master and his wife

A dog ate his master's rotting corpse after he and his wife died in their home and lay undiscovered for weeks.

Unable to find any food, the dog, believed to be a German Shepherd, fed on Albert Sprigens's arm and head after the 82-year-old died at the couple's isolated house in Brenchley, near Pembury, Kent.

Bedridden Audrey Sprigens, 70, is believed to have died because she was unable to call for help after her husband's death, Tunbridge Wells Coroner's Court heard.

When police entered the remote property on September 7 they found Mr Sprigens, a retired aircraft engineer, in the bath fully clothed. He had been decapitated and his skull was on the patio. His arm was without flesh.

A heavily decomposed and frail Mrs Sprigens was lying on the bedroom floor in her nightclothes. Police were called after a postman noticed the letterbox was overfull and was concerned that the dog looked emaciated and appeared to living in his own filth.