The skeleton of an elderly man has been discovered laying in bed still wearing his pyjamas at least 15 years after he died.

Piles of unopened post dating back to 1996 were also found at the seemingly abandoned house in Lille, northern France, giving investigators an early indication of the year the man died.

Police are yet to formally identify the body, but it is believed to be that of the elderly homeowner who lived alone and had no close relatives.

‘The state of the house suggests it was a peaceful death of someone who died in his bed,’ public safety official Didier Perroudon said.

He added that no concerns had been raised about the man’s absence…‘He was in his bed, in his pyjamas.’

Mr Perroudon said: ‘There was no mess. The house was locked from the inside. Nothing suggests a criminal act.’

The man’s skeleton was found last Friday after a health and safety inspector was sent to examine the ‘abandoned’ house.

Good luck with that autopsy. I don’t doubt identity can be confirmed as the elderly man from Spain who lived there for years.

Cause of death is a different story. Some ailments leave trace on skeletal structure. Others — nothing.