New Zealand pensioner lay dead in apartment for 14 months

Sep 1, 2011, 0:26 GMT

Wellington - An 88-year-old New Zealand man lay dead in his city council apartment in the capital Wellington for up to 14 months without anybody realising, news reports said on Thursday.

The body of reclusive Michael Clarke was only found by chance when workmen preparing to demolish the dilapidated apartment block in suburban Newtown called police after getting no response to repeated calls.

'We live as hermits and we die as hermits,' a neighbour, who identified himself only as Bob, told the Dominion Post newspaper. 'We're boxed away in here and the only way you get out is in a box.'

Neighbours said they did not want to intrude on the privacy of the pensioner, who had lived in his third floor one-room apartment for 30 years. His pension was paid into his bank account and his rent and utility bills continued to be paid by automatic bank transfers.

A council spokesman said inspection of the flat indicated that he could have died in June last year.

Mayor Celia Wade-Brown called for a report on the city council's processes for contacting tenants of apartment blocks and said, 'I think it's an appropriate time for us all to think about how we keep in touch with family and friends.'