The discovery of a decomposing body in an Inverness flat is being investigated by police.
Officers were called to the block in Culduthel Park on the outskirts of the city after a neighbour reported an unpleasant smell.
There was no answer when they hammered the door of the top-floor property and joiners were called to force entry.
Inside they made the grisly discovery of a man’s remains.
It is understood the flat’s occupant – named locally last night as Francis Gardiner, 33 – was last seen about 10 days ago.
One neighbour who lives in the same building, and asked not to be named, said the dead man had “kept himself to himself”.
He added: “He would have been in his early 30s, and had only lived here for two or three months.
“I didn’t know his name, not even a first name, as he did not speak very much to the other people in the block.
“It still came as quite a shock though, to hear what had happened and how he had lain for so long.
“We saw the police arriving at around 7.30pm, and could hear the banging noise as they tried to get in.
“Then the joiners arrived and broke the door down.
“Before long a private ambulance came and took the body away, that’s when we realised what was happening.
“Later in the evening, some people arrived at the flat and we could hear a woman screaming.”
A police spokesman said: “Police are making inquiries into the death of a 33-year-old man at a flat in Culduthel Park, Inverness, on July 21.
“The death is being treated as unexplained and a report will be sent to the procurator fiscal.
“Anyone with information should contact police in Inverness on the non-emergency number 101.”
Other residents suggested the rapid turnover of occupants in the area might explain why the man’s body had lain undiscovered.
Accountant Colin MacDonald, 58, said: “A policewoman came to my door and said there had been a death in one of the flats.
“In the past year, there have been massive changes in Cudluthel Park, a lot of people coming and going, and there are now only about five tenants that have been here longer than 10 years. Others barely last a year.
“The police officer asked me if I has seen the fellow, but when I had seen him previously I never connected him to the flat where he lived.
“When you haven’t seen or heard from anyone these days around here it is not unusual, which is quite sad but the way it is with all the moving.”
Retired engineer, Ben Sloan, 69, has lived in his flat for almost 15 years and agreed with his long-time neighbour.
“There have been instances of people packing their bags and moving in the middle of the night, and others moving in within days,” he said.
“I had seen the guy a few weeks back, he always wore a baseball cap, but I had never met or spoken to him.
“He must have had a family and someone will have had to break the news to them, that would be heart-breaking.
“There have been problems in some of the flats and the police have been here a few times over the years.
“When you don’t see someone, it is usually because they have moved out and you don’t question it.”
Councillor Ian Brown, who represents Inverness Millburn, said the death was a sad reflection of modern society.
“Keeping yourself to yourself seems to be more common these days and that being neighbourly is not as it was,” he said.
“This tragedy would highlight that, but my sympathies are with the young man’s friends and family.
“It is another one of these types of death that seem to be on the increase and I would pass on my commiserations to the neighbours as well.
“I would also ask people to be aware if they haven’t seen their neighbour for a day or two, and to tell someone.”
Comments appeared on social network sites yesterday, many from the area where the man was found.
One woman revealed she had raised the alarm because of the smell, while others expressed that the man may have lain dead for some time.