HOUSING bosses have apologised for a delay in cleaning a council flat in Oxford where a woman’s decomposing body was found.

Kathleen Heasman, 89, died in her council flat in Whitworth Place, Canal Street, Jericho, earlier this year and her niece said it was still in a horrendous state for six weeks after her body was discovered.

Christine Ingham, from Abingdon, said she believed her estranged aunt’s body may have been left decomposing for months.

Police officers informed Mrs Ingham of her aunt’s death in May but were unable to say exactly when she had died.

A TV magazine and milk she found in her flat dated back to February, leading Mrs Ingham to believe her aunt had died some months earlier.

The 61-year-old said: “The council was not doing its duty – no-one had been anywhere near the flat in months.”

The body was removed swiftly following its discovery but family members said they wanted all the belongings cleared so they could put the ordeal behind them.

Following news of her aunt’s death, Mrs Ingham said she wanted to get into the flat to get documents to cancel gas and electricity payments and sort out her aunt's bank details.

She added: “I wanted to get into the flat to get her personal papers but I was told the place was a bit of a mess because she had decomposed.

“The council said it would let me know when the cleaners had finished and I could go in, but three weeks later I was still waiting.”

After three more weeks she took it upon herself to get the keys and go into the council flat but was told she only had until May 31st before she had to return them. She said: “The smell was horrendous – I walked in and just vomited. My mum is upset. It’s her only sister and she wants closure.”

Oxford City Council’s head of housing and property services Stephen Clarke apologised to Mrs Ingham and said it should have done more to help clear belongings from the flat.

He also said staff had not been able to ventilate the flat properly and that temporary storage had now been sorted.

He said: “We appreciate this is a distressing time for Ms Ingham following the death of her aunt and we again extend our sincere condolences.

“After we were told about Mrs Heasman’s death we arranged for a specialist clean of the property on May 14 before Mrs Ingham could get in to deal with Mrs Heasman’s affairs and belongings.

“We could not leave the windows open to help with ventilation because the flat is on the ground floor and it would have been a security risk.”

He added: “We should have offered additional help earlier to support Mrs Ingham in sorting out the remaining belongings in the flat. We have now agreed to arrange temporary storage for her. We apologise for the inconvenience caused by this delay.”

The council has not yet said precisely when the specialist clean was carried out.

There will not be an inquest into Mrs Heasman’s death as her GP was satisfied she died of natural causes.