Man in his 70s found in flat weeks after he died is named
The man's body was discovered at The Barn in Bowthorpe - Credit: Submitted
A man who was found weeks after he died in a block of Norwich flats has been named locally as Anthony Rush.
The man, in his 70s, had lain dead for some time in his flat at The Barn on Rawley Road in Bowthorpe before neighbours called the police over concerns for his welfare.
The neighbour reported coming home in the early hours of the morning on Sunday, July 25 when he noticed a "horrible smell" and saw maggots crawling out from under Mr Rush's door onto the landing.
Police raided the property soon after at 4am, finding his body and sealing off the flat to investigate.
A spokeswoman said officers had made initial enquiries, but that the death is not being treated as suspicious and a file is being prepared for the coroner.
Today, on August 4, contractors were still in the process of cleaning out Mr Rush's flat and could be seen loading up damaged items from his living room onto a truck.
Contractors were cleaning Mr Rush's flat on Wednesday, August 4 by the property off Rawley Road in Bowthorpe - Credit: Archant
You may also want to watch:
A spokeswoman from Broadland Housing Group gave their condolences to Mr Rush's family after being informed on July 26 by Norwich City Council he had passed away.
They said: "Sadly, no-one had raised any queries or concerns with us, and there were no other warning indicators something could be wrong.
Most Read
- 1 Police probing reports Norwich clubbers have been spiked by needles
- 2 How Norwich are you? Take our quiz to find out
- 3 Chantry Place 'close to finalising deals' with four major brands
- 4 'Such a shame': Social media scammer targets Norwich pub
- 5 All of Norwich's Christmas opening hours
- 6 'Significant' amount of cash and electronics stolen from city home
- 7 Grill van serving gourmet burgers and hot dogs gets residency at city pub
- 8 'Eyesore' bus won't be removed despite neighbours' pleas
- 9 'Lives are at risk'-Patients' concerns over surgery appointment struggles
- 10 Tenant's despair as council fixes his windows by screwing them shut
"We would like to offer condolences to his friends and neighbours."
Residents described Mr Rush as a "friendly man", but said he was "very much a recluse" and that they "never saw him".
Craig Morrish worked as contractor for KMI Logistics and Deliverwize out of Amazon's Norwich depot - Credit: Archant
His neighbour Craig Morrish, 33, said: "I heard the officers who found him say he could have been there for at least eight weeks.
"It's a shame. The guy was really friendly.
"I hardly knew him but he wasn't a bother — just kept himself to himself.
"Over the course of the pandemic he became a recluse, so nothing was amiss when we didn't see him for a while.
"He wouldn't even open the door to food deliveries but would wait until the person had left the building before wedging open the door to collect them.
"When I first moved here eight years ago, I was struggling for cash, and he heard me telling my little girl I couldn't get her the magazine she wanted.
"Later on he knocked on the door with the magazine. I've never forgotten that."
