Tragedy as body of man who lived alone on Sheffield estate lay undiscovered for three weeks
The man’s body was not discovered for three weeks
A Sheffield man who lived alone on a city estate died and his body lay undiscovered for three weeks before anyone realised.
A neighbour who did not know the man, thought to have been in his 60s, said he lived alone in a property on Arbourthorne Road, Arbourthorne, and described the circumstances surrounding his death as “sad”.
Police are understood to have made the tragic discovery.
The death is not being treated as suspicious, said South Yorkshire Police.
A neighbour has criticised Sheffield City Council in the wake of the tragedy, claiming said she has been left to deal with “swarms of flies” following the death.
The mum-of-two said the situation has become unbearable.
She has accused the city of failing to act despite being contacted about the infestation days ago.
The resident said: “It is really sad - I didn’t know him well, but it is still sad.
“But since his body has been discovered, nothing has been done.
“The whole front window of the house is black with flies. You can see them swarming when you look from outside - it’s horrible.”
.jpeg?trim=0,150,0,150&crop=&width=640&quality=65)
The resident said police warned neighbours to keep their windows and doors shut after discovering the body.
She said: “Police gave us advice to keep everything shut, but it’s summer holidays and all my kids want to do is play outside in the garden, they feel cooped up.”
“My neighbour said they have seen both flies, and rats, which makes me scared to let my children outside.
“The kids have overheard talk that someone died and now they see all these flies - it’s traumatic for them.”
The mum said trying to clear flies from her home is a mammoth task and the city council needs to act.
“I have been trying to hoover up the flies that get in and get rid of them, but it’s impossible to stay on top of them all,” she said.
“They just keep appearing. We never get flies in the house, we take good care of our home.
“It’s so frustrating that the council have not been around to sort this out - it is no way to live.
“I just want to go into the kitchen without feeling physically sick.”
James Clark, Director of Housing Services at Sheffield City Council, said: “Our thoughts are with the deceased person’s family.
“As soon as we became aware of the situation our team visited the property concerned. Our Environmental Services Team is now working urgently on the issues that have been reported to us.”