A man found dead in his home after neighbours heard his dog barking will be buried in a pauper’s funeral.

Sidney Whitnell’s body was discovered in his flat in Sommerville Close, Faversham, last Monday.

A member of the public called police when the 62-year-old’s Jack Russell wouldn’t stop barking.

Officers forced their way into the cluttered and dirty property where Mr Whitnell had lived since moving from Maidstone in 2009.

Mr Whitnell died of natural causes.

His funeral has been organised by Swale Borough Council as no relatives or next of kin have been traced.

It will be held at 9am at the Garden of England Crematorium in Bobbing, Sittingbourne, on Friday July 22.

For more on this story see Thursday's Faversham News.