Man lived with brother's corpse, claimed benefits

A British man kept secret his brother's death, lived with the corpse for three years and continued to claim the man's government benefits, a court has been told.

Alistair Brown claimed nearly $60,000 before his fraud was uncovered, Britain's Daily Mail newspaper reported.

Firefighters responding to reports of burst pipe found a badly decomposed foot sticking out from under a bed.

John Brown's foot was discovered in December 2010 - three years after he is believed to have died, aged 69, the paper reported.

Alloa Sheriff Court was told that John Brown's body was so badly decomposed the cause of the death could not be determined.

Brown admited concealing his brother’s body and continuing to claim benefit payments.

The court heard that John Brown was thought to have died in mid-December 2007. He had problems with alcohol and had suffered a number of strokes.

Defence agent Gordon Addison said: "My client is quiet, introverted, lonely, and shy, and his actions have had tragic personal and awkward legal ramifications.

"Ian was his last living brother and the last contact he had with his family. No-one had spoken to either of them for three to four years prior to the man’s death."

Sheriff Kenneth McGowan imposed a work order of 240 hours of unpaid work.