A chef was found heavily decomposed in his flat four weeks after his death.

Barry Foulds, 52, was discovered in his bedroom at Lantern House in St Stephen's Walk, South Ashford.

An inquest at Archbishop's Palace in Maidstone heard how managers of the flat became concerned after they had not seen him for a number of weeks.

Calling for police to investigate on August 1, an officer forced entry to the home and discovered Mr Foulds, who was originally from Akrotiri in Cyprus, in his bedroom.

He had a history of epilepsy, alcoholism, and amphetamine use and was identified through his fingerprints.

DS Andrew West, who attended the scene, stated: "The bedroom windows and the doors were closed, there were no means of external entry.

"There was no sign of disturbance that would suggest any third party involvement."

Such a long time had passed that the cause of death was pronounced as unascertained with the coroner, Joanne Andrews, noting alcohol found in his body "could come from changes in the body post mortem".

Mr Foulds' sister was noted to have tried calling on him during the four weeks.

The coroner said "a neighbour had seen his sister knocking on the door".

Leaving the case open, she offered her utmost condolences to the family.

Read more: All the latest news from Ashford

For more information on why we cover inquests, click here