Estate agent finds owner's body hanging in wardrobe as he shows house to buyer

An estate agent was showing a would-be buyer round a house when he stumbled across the owner hanging dead inside a wardrobe.

The four-bedroom house was put on the market by Mark Ditchfield, 48, after his elderly mother died.

But the shocked agent and client made the gruesome discovery of the body hanging by a trouser belt as they examined the space in the master bedroom's fitted wardrobes.

The horrified viewer, who is in his forties, was so shocked that he fled the house and had to order a stiff brandy in a local pub to calm his nerves.

One regular said: "He was totally ashen, as if he had seen a ghost.

"He was shaking and asked for a stiff brandy. He could hardly put into words what he had seen, other than to say he and the agent were horrified.

"Everyone was stunned to hear about it.

"It goes without saying that it put him off buying the house."

Mr Ditchfield, a council worker, was devastated when his mother, who he lived with, died in November.

He told neighbours in Quorn, Leics, the house was too big for him and held too many memories.

One of his neighbours told The Sun newspaper: "He was a pleasant man but I don't think he could see a way forward without his mum.

"He just did not know what to do. I saw him the day before he was found and asked if he was OK.

"He poured his soul out to me. My last words to him were 'take care'. It's just a tragic story.

"The whole road was very shocked. You don't expect one of your neighbours to commit suicide, particularly in those circumstances."

A spokesman for agents Hartley Estates said: "I have spoken to the family and they do not wish me to make any comment."

An inquest will be held and a Leics police spokesman said: "The death is not being treated as suspicious."