Son continued to care for and feed his parents after they had died

A son continued to live with and attempt to feed his father after he had died, an inquest heard yesterday.

John Dumsday, 85, was badly decomposed and infested with maggots when he was found dead in his chair at the family home in Southbourne, Dorset. The pensioner, who played football for Queens Park Rangers in his youth, had napkins where his son, Paul, had been continuing to feed him.

An inquest in Bournemouth, Dorset, heard that their son Paul suffered from mental health issues and had apparently thought his parents were still alive.

His 83-year-old wife Christine, was found wearing a personal stereo playing music, when their bodies were found on August 25 last year. Bottles of smelling salts were found placed under the noses of the dead couple in a bid to revive them.

Tests were unable to establish when Mr Dumsday had died but he was last seen alive in the spring of 2007 - six months before his body was found.

After the discovery Paul Dumsday was admitted to St Anns psychiatric hospital in Poole. Mr Sheriff Payne, the coroner for Bournemouth, recorded an open verdict in the case of Mr Dumsday and death due natural causes for Mrs Dumsday.