Body unnoticed for a year

A woman lay dead in her bed for nearly a year before she was discovered.

The decomposed body of Sandra Drummond, 44, was found in her upstairs flat in Hulme, Manchester, after police broke in.

Council officials raised the alarm when they could not get into the property in Towncliffe Walk for an annual gas check.



The lock was drilled and police entered the first-floor maisonette on the 200-household Shawgreen estate. They discovered a mountain of junk mail behind the door and were confronted by an overpowering stench.

Ms Drummond had lived alone in the council flat for about five years and did not work. She had mental health problems but was not under the care of social services.

Greg Bradshaw, who lives in an adjoining flat, said: "The first I knew about her death was when the council came round with the police to break her door down."