THE new tenant of a Teignmouth flat and his family were ‘shocked’ to discover that a man had lain dead there for over a month.

Abi May claimed neither she nor her father Giles Taylor, 76, were told about the tragedy when he signed for his new home at Beechcroft, run by Guinness Partnership, a charitable community benefit company.

And they also maintain a specialist ‘trauma clean’ had not been carried out at the flat, where the decomposing body of Lenny Parsons, 74, was discovered earlier in the year, as reported in the Teignmouth Post in January.

Now central ward councillor Alison Eden has taken up the case and is demanding that people who take over such flats should be informed of any such previous incidents.

Mrs May, a former RAF medic, said when she and her husband first viewed the flat, they noticed some irregularities. The floor was covered in a latex liquid floor coating through which tufts, of what she now fears were contaminated bits of carpet, were poking through.

‘My husband was suspicious right from the start that something awful had happened there. It was in a bad state, and even the door, which had been broken in, had not been fixed.

‘When my father moved in it became apparent that the flat had not been deep cleaned, or even had a basic clean. The white plastic switches still had black grubby fingerprints, the kitchen had rust marks on surfaces, there were even food marks in cupboards, fat and oil up the kitchen wall and mould on window sills.

‘I was angry about the state of the place even before realising somebody had died there.’

When she complained, she maintains she was assured the flat had been ‘deep cleaned’ by a specialist firm three weeks prior to her dad moving in.

‘But a cleaner sent to inspect the flat, did admit that things had been missed. However, a deep clean is not a trauma clean anyway, and, in any case, even if the flat had been cleaned in some way, it was was not up to standard anyway.’

Cllr Eden said another resident told her the specialist trauma van sent to clean the flat consisted of one person with a hand held spray.

Mrs May was given a £150 painting and decorating voucher on March 27 following her complaints, as Guinness could not arrange for a tradesmen to paint the flat.

Cllr Eden added: ‘It’s unclear what this payment actually represents. Do all new residents receive such a payment? I think Guinness should explain exactly why this voucher was provided.’

Mrs May demanded the Guinness Partnership should accept their ‘negligence’ in failing to conduct a trauma clean.

‘They should confirm how they will take steps to ensure that this never happens to anybody else, and they must make a meaningful apology to my father.

‘I want my father to have what should have been completed prior to moving in – a new kitchen, heating and boiler system plus a documented trauma clean and all the basic maintenance completed. The bathroom should have been sanitised, disinfected and repainted.

The bathroom should have been sanitised, disinfected and repainted. The whole place should have been fumigated.

Cllr Eden declared: ‘I think in cases like this, potential new residents have a right to know what has happened and be assured that a full trauma clean to the correct health and safety standards has taken place.

‘This situation must be investigated and the distress caused to Mrs May and her father rectified immediately.’

Beechcroft is a former Devon County Council residential home.

A Guinness spokesman said: ‘We are sorry Mr Taylor and his daughter feel the flat at Beechcroft was not to the standard they expected.

‘The flat was deep cleaned by a specialist external company, the floors re-laminated, and the premises signed off by our surveyor, with Mr Taylor and his daughter visiting the flat twice prior to moving in.

‘We discussed redecoration with Mr Taylor and his daughter and contributed towards this, and we are happy to meet with them again to discuss any further issues.

‘We do not tell new tenants the details of previous tenants’ circumstances which lead to properties becoming available to let.’