Anger after man's death

Mar 23 2005 Exclusive, By James Cartledge

A furious row erupted today over claims a vulnerable tenant lay dead in his home for up to six weeks.

Neighbours accused the city council of leaving Derek Wright "to die" after police found his body.

They said workers ignored their worries that residents had not seen him for almost two months.

But the council insisted it tried to help Mr Wright, who lived alone and had learning difficulties. And it disputed how long he had been dead when his body was found.

Mother-of-three Joanne Spink, a 38-year-old school dinner lady who lived next door, said: "He was left to care for himself and, in my opinion, to die.

"The police told us he had been there for five or six weeks. I am disgusted the council let this happen."

Mrs Spink saw Mr Wright, who was in his mid-40s, every three weeks when he left his home at Lofthouse Crescent, Northfield, to go shopping.

She said she alerted housing officials when seven weeks passed without a sighting - but claimed no-one came to check on him.

A second neighbour, 64-year-old retired National Exhibition Centre porter Tom Dunne, said social services staff claimed Mr Wright had been seen by another resident. But, still concerned, he called the police, who found his body on March 11.

A Birmingham City Council spokeswoman denied Mr Wright was abandoned and said his brother, his next of kin, spoke to him by telephone on February 25.

"A social worker went round on a regular basis and he refused the help of a community nurse," she said. "He was well dressed and the house was tidy."

Mr Wright died of natural causes. West Midlands Police confirmed officers found Mr Wright's body, but could not say when he died.