A friend of a man who died at his home in Southfields has described him as a good man who was looked after by his church.

Catherine O’Dowd, 75, from Southfields, reported her friend Peter McGrath, 69, missing to the council on Wednesday, September 24.

Neighbours also called the police, to his home in Keevil Drive, after noticing a bad smell, and knocked down the door to find him lifeless.

Ms O’Dowd said he was an orphan, originally from Galway, who became a bus conductor.

She said he used to come round for dinner throughout the week attended Our Lady and St Peter Catholic Church in Victoria Drive.

She added: "He’s been coming to me for eight years.

"The last time he came to me was for the day [on September 9].

"He had diabetes and high blood pressure. He wouldn’t go to the doctor but I got him to go.

"He was well looked after by the church and people around here Inner Park Road.

"He just was giving up with his legs – they were so bad. We don’t know what the cause of death was."

Parish priest Reverend Philip de Freitas said: "He was a very good man, a wonderful person and very kind to everybody. He had a great intelligence and could talk in depth and at length about almost anything.

"He was very much a part of the church community and came here almost every day. He had lived in this parish almost 20 years and was very much a part of the community here. He was a much loved man."

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said they were treating the death as non-suspicious.