THE long-awaited funeral of a woman who died alone has resurfaced questions over whether enough was done to look out for the 82-year-old.

Diane Robins was found dead, along with some of her cats, days to weeks later in her home in Stanmore in October 2021.

Her death in Fox Lane sparked concerns about the level of care taken by the authorities.

One neighbour said he spent more than a year and a half calling the city council, social services and the police for help before Ms Robins died.

The individual then had to fight for Ms Robins to be given a 30-minute funeral which took place on Wednesday, January 11 at Wessex Vale Crematorium.

Hampshire Chronicle:

The service was attended by the Chronicle and three others with Ms Robins having no known friends or family.

READ MORE: Funeral held for Stanmore woman who died alone with her cats

A spokesperson from Hampshire County Council said: “This is an exceptionally sad case and our sincere condolences go to all who may have known this lady.

“While we are unable to comment in detail on this particular case as it is subject to a coroner’s inquest and wider safeguarding adult review, we have completed our own internal enquiry into the circumstances to help identify any further actions that might have been appropriate to support this lady.

"The learning from all reviews undertaken by the Hampshire Safeguarding Adults Board (HSAB) in respect of individuals who have experienced serious abuse or neglect, including self-neglect, or who have sadly passed away as a result, are published on the HSAB website and shared with partners to help agencies further improve how they work together to safeguard people.”

Funeral director Graham Deacon said: "It's not unusual to have people die alone, it's quite a common occurrence when people die of a certain age.

"I made the best of the limited information I had to give her the dignified send-off she deserved. The whole thing was not as we expect of a normal passing with it being so long from when she died but we gave her a lovely send-off."

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The neighbour, who asked to remain anonymous, said he and his wife tried “non-stop” to get people to help Ms Robins.

Hampshire Chronicle:

He said: “I really hope serious lessons will be learnt from this and it can never be allowed to happen again. Especially in social housing where the council have a duty of care to both their tenants and the conditions of a property. They have failed Ms Robins throughout. And they know this too, they put their heads down and say nothing.”

The council’s findings will be provided to the wider safeguarding review. The aim of the board is to promote awareness and understanding of abuse and neglect among service users, carers, professionals, care providers and the wider community, ensuring the systems in place, protect those at risk.

A spokesperson for Winchester City Council said: "This is an incredibly sad situation and our thoughts are with those who knew Ms Robins. We can’t comment in more detail at this stage, as a Safeguarding Adult Review is being undertaken by the Hampshire Safeguarding Adults Board. We were very sorry to learn of Ms Robins’ death and had made several offers of support to our resident in the preceding months and weeks."