A man kept his friend's dead body under a sofa undiscovered for almost 10 years because he was worried he would be evicted from his home - and it was missed by a council worker who visited after neighbours complained about the smell.
Alan Derrick discovered the body of Denis Pring, who lived with him, some time in 1998 - and kept it a secret, as he wasn't allowed to have lodgers in his council flat in Bedminster, near Bristol.
Derrick, who has learning difficulties and was described in the inquest as 'simple', had invited 73-year-old Pring to live with him. The two were regular drinking companions.
When he discovered his friend had died, believed to have happened between April and June 1998, he tipped the sofa on its side and hid the body with cushions. A council worker who responded to complaints from neighbours about the smell in 1999 failed to spot the body, blaming the smell instead on an overflowing toilet.
The body was only discovered in 2008, when Derrick moved out of the property. The council workers who found Pring's body said that it was still in a sitting position, and looked like a 'pile of dirt with bones sticking out.'
The coroner recorded an open verdict into Mr Pring's death. No charges have been brought against Derrick.Bloody hell that place must have stunk to high heaven
