An elderly man has been found dead in his home after no one checked on him for weeks.

Last Tuesday (February 14), police were called to an address in Ash Close, Edgware, where they found a man in his 80s who had been dead long before discovery.

The man’s body has since been sent to North London coroner’s court where he will be formally identified and cause of death will be determined in due course.

Resident Terry Wyse described the deceased as a “brave old chap” who was popular with his neighbours.

He said: “We always used to see him walking about the estate, saying hello to everyone, and he went to the pub down the road for a pint almost every day.

“When the police came I was sure I had only seen him days before but they told me there was no way it was possible with the state they found his body in.

“This is a neighbourhood where we all look out for each other but a lot of the residents are elderly and they struggle to get around, a lot of their families live far away and cannot check on them all the time.”

According to Mr Wyse, the accommodation at Ash Close, now run by Habinteg housing association, was marketed as sheltered accommodation.

This would mean a warden would regularly check on all residents to make sure they are still well and being looked after.

When approached for comment, Habinteg said their accommodation has never been qualified as sheltered as far back as 2009 but they cannot speak for any previous landlords.

Head of communications Christina McGill said: “Habinteg is a general needs housing association and the Ash Close scheme is a general housing scheme providing independent living tenancies with some extras in the shape of emergency pull cords installed in the properties when they were built by a previous landlord.

“Although warden services are not something that Habinteg offers we do have a member of staff working at the scheme from 9am-5pm Monday to Friday to assist tenants with raising repairs and other tenancy related matters.

“We also work closely with Barnet social services who have the responsibility for social care provision in the area.

“Some tenants on scheme receive regular visits form care providers arranged by the borough.

“If any tenant feels that they are in need of additional support our team would be happy to assist them in arranging assessment by social services.”

The Barnet Times expects to be able to report on details from North London coroner’s court later this week.