The skeleton of a Bexleyheath woman was found in the front room of a house she shared with her son – but coroners say they may never know when she was last seen alive.

Last year, on August 22, police were called to a house in Stapleton Road to reports of a dead body.

They arrived to find a skeleton which had been there for 'a number of years'.

Doris Ames had been living at the house with her youngest son, Martin, 55, before he died from cancer.

After his death, her body was discovered by her estranged eldest son, Alan, when the 61-year-old visited the house.

A spokesman for South London Coroner told News Shopper an inquest could not ascertain why Mrs Ames died due to the "skeletal" state in which her body was found, nor could it be discovered how long ago she had died.

The spokesman said: "It is not known when she was last seen alive".

Following the short inquest into Mrs Ames' death at Croydon Coroners Court on February 3, an open verdict was given