A man has been found dead at a flat at the back of a newsagents in Bloxwich in “unexplained” circumstances, prompting a police investigation.

The 42-year-old man was found dead in the flat, at the back of Rani News newsagents in Lichfield Road, Little Bloxwich, at about 8.30am yesterday.

Police cordoned off the area while they spoke to neighbours, and the newsagent’s was closed for the day.

The death of the man, named locally as father-of-two Neil Stringer, is currently being described by police as “unexplained” as officers await the results of a post-mortem examination.

Rakesh Rani, 58, runs the newsagents with his wife, Hamesh, also 58, and started letting the flat to Mr Stringer last year, having known him for 15 years.

Mr Rani, who took over the shop in 1991, met Mr Stringer when he started coming into the shop, and let him stay in the flat after he was divorced.

He said he usually saw him daily, and became suspicious when he did not see him over the weekend. He checked and found his body.

This afternoon acting Det Ch Insp Darren Crutchley said: “The death is still being treated an unexplained and we are waiting the results of a forensic post mortem and toxicology reports.

Nobody else is being sought in connection with the death.”