The brother of a man with schizophrenia who died in a squalid Clapham flat criticised the care workers who feared moving him would violate his human rights.

Mayan Coomeraswamy was found dead on January 9 this year in a filthy, unheated flat deemed barely fit for human habitation, an inquest heard yesterday.

His brother, Anthony Coombe, accused the authorities of failing in their duty of care after a post mortem examination showed signs of hypothermia.

The case has triggered a review into how local mental health services handle vulnerable patients choosing to live in such conditions.

Mr Coombe said: “My brother has been a mentally ill person for 37 years. For the last four years we know the state of his residence where he was living was squalor.

“I think even an animal couldn’t have lived in that.”

He added: “If my brother died for one [reason], I hope we can learn by this.”

Mr Coomeraswamy lived in Thurleigh Court, Nightingale Lane, under the supervision of South West London and St George’s Mental Health Trust.

For years the landlord, Gary Burns, wanted to clean the flat up - but the trust refused to forcibly move the patient to allow work to take place.

The boiler was broken, the bathroom ceiling had collapsed, the walls were damp and a thick coat of dirt covered every surface.

Showing photographs of the scene to the court, Dr Paul Knapman, the coroner, said: “This is barely fit for human habitation.

He added: “Photograph five shows an absolutely filthy kitchen with stuff all over the place. One thing it doesn’t show is rodents or insects, if there were any. I can’t believe there wouldn’t be.”

The patient, who was visited regularly by a psychiatric nurse, was found dead, partially clothed, in his bedroom after police were told he would not answer the door.

A post mortem examination found ulcerations in his stomach, often found in those suffering from hypothermia.

Speaking in court, Dr Ruth Allen, director of social work at Tooting's Springfield Hospital, said human rights had to be considered before removing patients from their homes.

She said people were only sectioned when they refused to comply with treatment, but this was never the case with Mr Coomeraswamy.

She added: "What we have to bear in mind is that this is not the only piece of legislation in terms of people's rights that the care team have to balance."

She highlighted that workers were always aware of the patient’s right to choose their living circumstances, citing the Mental Capacity Act and the Human Rights Act.

But Dr Knapman called for a review into the trust’s interpretation of these laws.

He said: “You will know that month after month in this court we hear about elderly people often dead for weeks and weeks - sometimes months - living in absolutely appalling circumstances.

He added: "The pendulum may have swung too far."

The results of the review could affect adult care policy nationally, with knock-on effects for Alzheimer's patients and others living supervised in the community.

Mr Coomeraswamy came to England from Sri Lanka in 1970 to study chemical engineering, but during his last year of work experience he developed chronic schizophrenia and never worked again.

The inquest, at Westminster Coroner's Court, was adjourned to 11am on Wednesday, December 9, pending the trust's review.