This has upset me beyond belief

I just read that and I can honestly say it brought tears to my eyes. So, so sad.

Oh God, that is so, so sad. I know how you feel, I've teared up. I'm a bit angry about those neighbours who could comment that she hadn't had a visitor in 18 years but couldn't take it upon themselves to pop round for five minutes to check she was OK.

Thats really, really sad

It's so sad that this can happen, but sadly is sign of the breakdown of community.

I know what you mean. The neighbours, local shop keeper state that they had seen her about 4 times a week before. Then one of them says 'I'm surprised no-one noticed the smell"

How sad that a neighbour who you regularly see about is no longer seen and it takes a 'smell' or a leak to make someone go and check on them.

Oh, that's awful. How sad to think that nobody noticed her gone. These days, neighbours often seem to be thought of as an annoyance, rather than possible friends...not the way it used to be at all.

Oh that's made me well up, that poor woman. I can't believe noone would realise that she hadn't been seen ?

When I was a kid I lived in a cull-de-sac that consisted of young families and old people, most widowed. Funnily enough it was us kids who used to go round visiting the olds for a glass of orange and a sweetie. They would spoil us and treat us with a strange kind of respect we didn't get from our nagging parents, and we in turn would appreciate that ,and behave accordingly. A lost community.. so sad.

Bloody hell, how sad. How can people have not noticed?? It's beggars belief?

I read that yesterday, its awful.

I'm not justifying it by any means but some people prefer to live a reclusive existence. One of my neighbours, my friend who lived here before us lived here 18 months and never saw him. I didn't see him for the first year or so. Now I know he leaves the house at 7.15 every morning, but would never say hello to you. I have tried! There are only 6 houses in the road so we all know each other, apart from him. The 87 year old lady who lives between us and him hassles him sometimes to do his garden ? but he doesn't like speaking to people. If I've not seen him for a while I look out for him in the mornings.

The poor lady. It's such a sad story. Surely someone, some family or friends, would think they hadn't heard from her for a while? Even if you cut yourself off from your family, or have none, you'd surely have some friends?

That's very sad.

I don't know the area in question, but I can see how it could happen. We live on the 3rd floor of a Victorian conversion - each floor is a different flat and it's in a row of terraces on a road with 300+ houses. It's got a very fluctuant population, because tbh it's not a very nice road! Lots of students, young immigrant professionals who move on quickly etc. Since we've been living here (2 years) we've had 5 different sets of downstairs neighbours and goodness knows how many new sets on both sides. I couldn't possibly tell you all their names, and I certainly wouldn't be able to tell you their comings and goings and what would be unusual for them. From one of the comments from the neighbours on that story it sounds like it might be a similar area.

How tragic to have no family or friends who would notice either. We have far too many elderly people who come into hospital with no next of kin at all ?

I live not too far from here but not near enough for it to be my doorstep. The Edinburgh Evening News had a really conflicting report - the woman that worked in the optician said that "its so shocking as there's a real sense of community in this area" - well quite clearly there isn't! The next person they interviewed was a student who had lived in the block that the elderly lady had for three years and had never spoken to a neighbour!!!

I very very rarely see my neighbours - I live in a block of 30 flats - I think its quite common for people who live in flats not to see each other - you don't have gardens for example so there's no talking over the fence or whatever.