Bodies of mother and son found at property

The bodies of a mother and son were discovered at their home in the Black Country, it emerged today.

Vera and Trevor Hill were found by police officers after concerned neighbours raised the alarm. Mrs Hill, aged 75, and Mr Hill, 52, lived in Victoria Road, Cradley Heath. Police said today they were treating the deaths as "unexplained".

The bodies, which were discovered last Thursday afternoon, had no obvious injuries and carbon monoxide poisoning has been ruled out.

West Midlands Police spokesman David Hodgetts said: "Police forced entry to the address after a neighbour expressed concerns that the occupants had not been seen for a time. Officers found no obvious suspicious circumstances and at this stage the deaths are being treated as unexplained pending the result of post mortems."

Neighbours living in the quiet street of semi-detatched houses today spoke of their shock at the grim discovery.

One resident, who did not want to be named, said: "I used to see the lady gardening in the summer but they mostly kept themselves to themselves – they were very quiet.

"It was just the two of them. A young lady who we all thought was the daughter used to visit but she had not been seen for years.

"Everyone has been shocked by their deaths and no one understands what has really happened."

Smethwick Coroners Office is now trying to trace the Hills' next of kin.

Coroner investigator Margaret Collins said that staff were going to hold off opening an inquest into the deaths for a few weeks to give relatives a chance to come forward.

She said there appeared to be nothing "untoward" about the deaths and staff were now waiting on the results of post mortems.

Anyone with information can call the coroners office on 0845 3527480.