A MAN’S body was left in his flat for two years before anyone noticed and in a separate case a woman’s suicide was only discovered nine months afterwards.

The body of the 62-year-old man was found in an armchair in his flat in Yvelines (west of Paris) after neighbours complained of smells. Police found letters in his box dating from 2007 and a yoghurt in the fridge with a November 2007 use-by date.

His landlord, who had continued to collect the rent via direct debit, accepted partial responsibility, but said the town council, post office, neighbours and local shops were all partly to blame for not noticing anything was amiss.

The man, who was single and had no children, is said to have died from medical problems. The police are now trying to trace family members in Portugal.

In a separate case, the body of a woman in her 40s was found by a bailiff who broke into her flat in Seine-Saint-Denis (north-east of Paris) to demand unpaid rent. It is said the woman had been suffering depression and neighbours said they thought she had been hospitalised. Unread post suggested she died about nine months ago, from suicide.