A Beckton man was discovered dead in his house by officials who had come to evict him, a court has heard.
Vernon Bennett, 61, was found dead at his home address in Bracken Close, Beckton, on November 7.
He is thought to have taken his own life.
An inquest into his death was formally opened at East London Coroner’s Court, Walthamstow, on Thursday, December 19.
“He had last been heard of on the 4th of August 2024,” said coroner Dr Shirley Radcliffe.
“His home address was going to be repossessed by a housing agency.”
The agency was not named during the brief court hearing.
On November 7, said the coroner, “an officer and contractor arrived to change his locks”.
But when they entered the property, they found him dead in the corridor.
“The London Ambulance Service arrived and confirmed the person was life extinct,” said Dr Radcliffe – but they could not ascertain when he had died.
A public inquest will be held.
Inquests are held to identify the circumstances that lead to unnatural deaths and whether future similar deaths could be avoided.
Dr Radcliffe adjourned the inquest to a date yet to be decided.
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