Meet the man who lived with a corpse for ten years!

Britain News.Net
Sunday 10th February, 2008 (ANI)

London, Feb 10 : A British man lived up to the phrase 'Living with the Dead' by sharing his flat with a corpse for ten years.

Alan Derek kept the dead body of his friend hidden under an upturned sofa.

The 68-year-old's neighbour's had been complaining about the unpleasant smell from the flat for years.

However, the corpse was only discovered when council cleaners finally went in and found the remains stuck to the couch.

"The guy was struggling to find somewhere to live and Alan offered him a place to sleep. But they came home one night and the other guy died," The Sun quoted Alan's neighbour Reggie Askins, as saying.

"Alan was scared to tell anyone. He knew he shouldn't have had a lodger - he hadn't told the council and was worried they'd stop his Giro. So he just turned the sofa over and forgot about him.

"He told me, 'I can't believe it. I just forgot he was there,'" he added.

One official who entered the flat in Bedminster, Bristol, said: "It seemed the man had been sitting on the sofa in an upright position when he died and had just been left there."

He added that a council clearance team was sent into the flat in 2002 because neighbours complained.

Derek reportedly only allowed them access to his house after they guaranteed not to look under his sofa.

"I'm not talking about this. I didn't know it was there," Derek said.

Neighbours described Derek as a "down and out" who lived without electricity for nearly 20 years.

Bristol City Council has launched an investigation into the case.

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