Atlanta Jackson, from Co Antrim, says that she could see thousands of bluebottles and flies against the window of a neighbour’s flat following her neighbour dying
A woman has told of the “terrible smell and influx of flies” after a neighbour’s death left her family unable to leave their home for two weeks.
Atlanta Jackson, from Co Antrim, Northern Ireland, called the Housing Executive due to a strong smell coming from her downstairs neighbour’s flat on August 4. And when her mum said it had been a while since she last saw her neighbour, as well as pointing out the strangeness of the smell, they called police who found there had been a “sudden death” at the flat in Dunmurry.
Atlanta said officers confirmed her neighbour had passed away three or four weeks previously. She said: “We are in an upstairs flat, and this flat is across from us but downstairs.
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“There was this terrible smell two weeks ago, I honestly have no words to even describe it, it was coming the whole way through our flat.
“On August 4, I went out the back garden with my mum to let the dog out, and she said there’s something not right about the smell. She was with me on the phone to the Housing Executive, and she asked me if I’ve seen my neighbour for a while.
“I hadn’t, but he was the type of neighbour you would have seen once every two or three weeks, it wasn’t abnormal not seeing him every day. My mum asked if I thought he was dead.
“The Housing Executive said to check the windows, and his windows were completely covered in blue bottles and flies. We then phoned police and they came out and confirmed he had been dead for three or four weeks.”
Due to the smell and influx of flies as a result, Atlanta said they haven’t been able to open their windows or use the garden. After two weeks of following up with the Housing Executive to see when the flat would be cleared, contractors arrived on the site on Tuesday morning.
“This was in the middle of the heatwave, so obviously the heat was making the smell worse,” she told BelfastLive. “The police took him away, and Housing Executive said they would send someone out to clean the place.
“They were trying to find a next of kin, but they were having difficulty, I think he didn’t have one. We gave them a few days and chased it up as nobody had been out.
“Last week, they said it would be Thursday or Friday. Nobody came, so I rang them again yesterday (Monday) and they said it would be that day, but nobody came out. When I woke up this morning, one or two people from the Housing Executive were here in white suits for about an hour.
“Looking at the back window of the flat I can see from my kitchen, they opened his back window and the flies were all over the walls and my windows this morning. His windowsill is just covered in dead flies still, so I’m hoping they’ll come back later and clean it out.
“Yesterday it was 20 degrees and all our windows were closed. We have a fan, but it’s just circulating hot air. Our dog is in the house and he can’t get out unless we take him out on the lead to the front, it’s just a bit of a nightmare with the heat.”
A PSNI spokesperson said: “Police attended a sudden death in the Rowan Drive area of Dunmurry on Monday 4th of August. This is not being treated as suspicious at this time.”
A Housing Executive spokesperson said; “Sadly, an elderly tenant died at this property recently and unavoidable legal and investigative processes have had to be followed before the property could be returned for re-let.
“Those processes have now been concluded. Our contractor was present at the property early this morning to carry out the necessary works and the pest infestation has been cleared.
“Our maintenance team are now assessing what further improvement works are required to ensure the property is suitable for re-allocation. We have also liaised with local representatives in recent days to keep them informed on the situation.”
