THE brother of a former North-East man who was found dead in his London home, has spoken of his shock at the tragedy.

Jack Peacock, of Norton Road, Stockton, Teesside, was grief-stricken when he heard that his brother Alan, 71, had been found by emergency services in his Kentish Town flat.

The cause of death is not known and Mr Peacock said he fears he will never know how his brother died.

The body was found after neighbours reported not seeing him for several weeks.

Mr Peacock told The Northern Echo he had not spoken to his bachelor brother for about 18 months. He found out about the last year of his life by reading his brother's diaries.

He said: "His death came as a complete shock. Alan wasn't a loner until the last year of his life. He had lived in those flats since 1981 and had a friend about his own age there, but his friend died and then there were only young people living around him, and, of course, they are out at work all day."

The late Mr Peacock was a chain smoker and Mr Peacock thinks his brother could have died of a heart attack. At an inquest last week in London, the coroner recorded an open verdict.

The late Mr Peacock had written an autobiography and kept extensive diaries about his life. He had short stories published in the Reader's Digest and played brass instruments in a jazz band.

He was a keen artist and had gone to Hartlepool Art College before enlisting in the RAF. He then worked at the docks in Hartlepool before becoming an insurance collector and then a bus conductor.

He moved to London to teach art, but left to become a draughtsman and helped to install heating and ventilation systems at the Houses of Parliament and British Museum.