48-year-old James Gibbs died in his Norwich flat alone

The body of James Gibbs was discovered by a police officer who attended his flat at Brampton Court in Bowthorpe following concerns for his welfare. 

A neighbour had reported “a weird smell” coming from his property after not seeing him for “a number of weeks”. 

Mr Gibbs was declared dead at around 5pm on September 15 and a next-of-kin appeal was issued. 

A statement from his brother was read out at Norfolk Coroner’s Court during an inquest on Thursday.  

Norfolk Coroner's Court (Image: Newsquest)

The Norwich court, based at County Hall, heard that the pair had last seen each other in 2011. 

At this time, Mr Gibbs was suffering from depression and anxiety following the death of his mother. 

The court also heard how Mr Gibbs had been diagnosed with both conditions, with the latter described as “severe”. 

In May 2022, he reported to his GP that he was “worrying about everything and struggling with money” and reported having difficulty sleeping while feeling “down all the time” and “not wanting to live”. 

General practitioner James Sudbury, of the Trinity and Bowthrope Medical Practice, said Mr Gibbs had cancelled six appointments in the space of four and a half months. 

After the reception team made him aware of the multiple cancellations, Dr Sudbury attempted to call twice on February 13.

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He was unable to reach him but left a voicemail and followed up with an email, which was read by Mr Gibbs 16 minutes later. 

Dr Sudbury also directed him to several organisations and self-help materials for support. 

A postmortem gave the medical cause of death as unascertained. 

Samantha Goward, area coroner for Norfolk, recorded a brief narrative conclusion.  

She said: “It is not possible to ascertain cause of death, but there was no evidence of violence or trauma. It is not possible to say whether this was a naturally occurring event or as a result of a deliberate act or an accident.” 

• Do you need support? Samaritans can be contacted 24/7 on 116 123. Alternatively, the NHS First Response Service is available on 111 selecting option 2.