Neighbours say although the man's body has been removed, the smell of death lingers in the air weeks later
Disgusted neighbours say the flies have taken over the block of flats in Robin Hood Road, Willenhall, and claim the landlords have failed to send a clean-up crew despite numerous requests.
A man living on the bottom floor died on August 4 and although his body was later removed, residents - many of whom are young families with children - say the smell of death has become unbearable.
Whitefriars Housing are accused of promising to attend the flats, but nobody has shown.
One of the outraged neighbours, Ellie-Jo Kennedy, shot the video of the flies and told the Telegraph: “The problem started about three weeks ago when I was asked to come downstairs to look in to the flat of one of our neighbours as they thought he was dead.
“I looked through the window and could see he was dead, so I rang the police and the ambulance who came.
“The day after we could still smell the horrible smell of death in the flats, so we had to open every single window in the block and wedge the door open with a bike, which also affective our security.
“Myself and three neighbours complained to Whitefriars and they said they would be round in 24 hours, but didn’t turn up and kept saying they would turn up within 24 hours and the days just went by.
“A week ago my partner spotted the flies. They are multiplying and creeping out of the cracks and landing on us which is disgusting.”
The 19-year-old lives with her partner, whose child visits their flat about three times a week.
And she says there are a lot of families with children living in the block, which means the issue should be an even higher priority for Whitefriars.
She also feels that if the flats were in a different part of the city then it would have been dealt with by now.
“I feel if this was in a nicer area of the city, instead of where we are in Willenhall, then it would have been dealt with much quicker,” said Ellie.
Ed Ruane, councillor for the Henley ward, has also been contacted and has urged Whitefriars to act swiftly.
He said: “I don’t know how it has taken so long to act on this.
“Surely [Whitefriars] have a protocol if someone passes away, that they get in to the flat and clean it out.
“There are children living in this block and it’s disgusting.”
In a statement, Whitefriars said: “Sadly, we were unable to trace any next of kin following the death of the occupant.
“In these circumstances we refer such cases to Coventry City Council’s bereavement department and we have been waiting for them to allow us to enter the flat."
In response, a Coventry City Council spokesperson said: “In cases where a Coventry resident dies and no next of kin can be found, Coventry City Council will arrange a funeral for the deceased.
“However, the process of funeral organisation and any associated cost recovery does not prevent the landlord – Whitefriars Housing – from entering and cleaning the property."
Whitefriars lying thorough their teeth as usual.
