A woman found deceased having lived in a ‘swamp’-like flat had lain dead for roughly four months, the News now understands.
The decomposing body of a woman was found at Tabard Gardens Estate in Borough, on January 6, 2023, ten months after neighbours raised concerns about her welfare in March 2022.
Local MP Neil Coyle said he was “horrified” that the council “seemed to have missed opportunities to help her”.
Exclusive: Woman living in “swamp” conditions found dead in Borough flat
In response, Southwark Council said: “We do believe we supported her” and that an internal review was ongoing.
But Coyle, MP for Bermondsey and Old Southwark, remained unconvinced: “Until officers listen and learn there is every chance this could happen again as multiple opportunities to better support the vulnerable woman who lost her life seem to have been missed and she could also have been found sooner.”
Jeffrey Boachie-Frimpong, a neighbour living below the woman’s flat, first became concerned in March 2022 when water leaked into his family’s home from above.
He visited her apartment to investigate the leak, where he discovered the woman living in ‘swamp’ conditions due to a build-up of scummy water in her flat.
“I was greeted by a lady who was extremely distraught and explained her leak had been ongoing for many months previously… she was living in what seemed to be a dirty swamp,” Jeffrey said.
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Southwark Council says it repaired the leak and spoke to the woman – who did not disclose any medical vulnerability at that time.
The council has also confirmed that, four months later on July 26, the woman contacted them about problems she was facing.
She told the council she had recently broken her leg, had lost her job and was worried about not being able to afford rent.
Southwark Council said it told her to contact the Citizens’ Advice Bureau to find out what financial support was available.
Leaks started pouring into Mr Boachie-Frimpong’s ceiling again in September, but repair officers couldn’t gain access to the woman’s flat on multiple occasions because she did not answer the door.
On January 6, when a leak from above broke Mr Boachie-Frimpong’s lights, a council officer forced entry to the tenant’s flat and found she was dead.
A source close to the case had said she is believed to have died in September.
People are now questioning if more could have been done to support the woman, and prevent her lying undiscovered for months.
The council argues it supported the woman, but neighbours and MP Neil Coyle believe this may not be the case.
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Reporting a leak in October, Mr Boachie-Frimpong emailed the council, saying: “Someone needs to check if the person living there is okay, because I have knocked a few times and nobody is ever in.”
Despite this, it is understood that no welfare check was conducted.
When the woman was struggling to pay rent, the council claims it followed the correct process by referring her to Citizens Advice.
But Neil Coyle believes she should have been referred to the council’s in-house local support team.
He said a Citizens Advice referral was a “glorified” way of telling the tenant to “pull her socks up”.
Mr Coyle has also questioned whether council officers, when visiting the woman in March, should have detected she needed help despite her claims to be fine.
The council has said the woman, who hasn’t been formally identified, was not known to local mental health services.
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Southwark Council said it was conducting an investigation, but Coyle says there needs to be a change in attitude.
Following a meeting he organised with the council’s housing team on Wednesday, February 8, the MP said: “In eighteen years dealing with Southwark Council, including six as a councillor and seven as MP, yesterday’s meeting was the most disappointing by a long stretch.
“I’m not convinced council officers believe anything went wrong in the tragic circumstances that saw someone pass away and be left decomposing on a well populated estate for several months.
“The response is to say ‘we followed all processes’ and not examine how those systems must now change to help prevent such an awful situation being repeated.
“I am deeply disheartened and frankly distressed by the upsetting response from council officers, who are seeking to move on without addressing the problems this tragedy has exposed.”
A Southwark Council spokesperson said: “We do believe that we supported her and there were opportunities when she got in touch and we responded to that and phone calls we had with the tenant did not suggest vulnerability.
“There’s an active reviewer looking at the service to see if the evidence points to anything we need to change.”
