AN inquiry is underway after a pensioner living in sheltered accommodation lay dead for almost two weeks before his body was discovered.

The death of the 70-year-old tenant went unnoticed until neighbours noticed a smell coming from his second floor flat and raised the alarm.

Neighbours at Sutherlands Court in Chandler's Ford say police visited the flats and told them he had been dead for about 12 days.

Pensioners criticised the delay in finding the body and claimed that cuts had been made in the warden service previously provided by First Wessex.

One woman said "It's left us feeling uneasy about our own safety."

Steve Brine, Tory MP for Winchester and Chandler's Ford, pledged to look into why it took so long for the pensioner's body to be found.

Veteran Eastleigh councillor Godfrey Olson said: "I'm very disappointed in First Wessex - I've always believed the service they provide to be of the highest order.

"I'm sure they will also be disappointed that something has slipped through the net.

"People go into sheltered accommodation for safety and security and I hope First Wessex will look at their system to see if it can be improved."

Ward councillor Alan Broadhurst added: "We need to know what happened and why.

"Although Sutherlands Court is older people's accommodation they don't have a resident warden or a visiting warden. The system relies on tenants pulling a cord to get help if someone's in trouble.

"The tenants are a caring community who look out for each other so I'm not sure what went wrong."

Cllr Liz Fairhurst, the county council executive member for adult social care, described the delay in finding the man's body as "desperately sad".

She added: "I'd have thought there's bound to be an inquiry."

The man, who has not been named, is understood to have lived at Sutherlands Court for only a few months.

A neighbour who did not want to be named said: "For 12 days a body was decomposing in the flat.

"I was in utter shock when I found out what had happened. It was so upsetting, especially as this is sheltered accommodation."

A First Wessex spokesman described the incident as "very unfortunate" and although unable to comment on how long the body may have lain undiscovered said the matter was being investigated by the association.

She added: "Sheltered accommodation is not like it used to be. There are no longer wardens on site but the residents all have pull cords.

"The gentleman who died did not have one of the individual care packages that are organised with the council according to the person's care needs."