Elderly couple found dead at home

Elizabeth Barrett,Pa
Monday 19 May 2008 07:49 BST
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A community is in shock today after the bodies of an elderly couple were found at their home by a relative.

The woman was found with a head injury and the man found hanging inside the detached suburban property.

Police said they were not looking for anyone in connection with the inquiry.

Officers discovered the two bodies after being called to Leylands Road, Burgess Hill, East Sussex at around 3pm yesterday.

A Sussex Police spokesman said: "Police attended in response to a call from a close family member of the husband and wife who lived at the house.

"On arrival the bodies of the couple, a woman in her 70s and a man is his 80s, were discovered inside the house.

"The woman had a head injury, although her cause of death is yet to be established. The man was found hanging.

"The deaths are currently being treated as unexplained and are under investigation. Nobody else is being sought in connection with the incident."

The couple's detached two-storey home has been cordoned off with police tape.

Two officers stood guard outside the property last night while other officers conducted house-to-house inquiries along the quiet suburban street.

The front door could clearly be seen covered in clear plastic sheeting, while three cars remained on the driveway.

A South East Coast Ambulance Service spokeswoman said one ambulance and two response cars were called, but both patients were declared dead on arrival at the house.

Residents were stunned by the gruesome discovery.

One neighbour said: "We're shocked. There were four police cars all blocking our drive and two ambulances. I said 'something must have happened'

"We hadn't seen the couple for quite some days even though the weather was fine and we've been going out in the garden.

Another added: "It was about 3.30pm when we noticed all the vans outside. It's terrible. They were very private and kept themselves to themselves.

"We're horrified. It's the sort of thing you pick up and read in the paper but don't think it will happen near to you."

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