Council destroys missing tenant’s belongings after banning his family from flat

A council destroyed the belongings of a tenant who went missing, after banning his family from entering his flat.

Robert Bracegirdle, 75, disappeared from his home in Goole in 2020 after struggling with mental health issues. A police search failed to find him and a coroner later ruled that he had died by drowning in the nearby River Ouse.

His next of kin were forbidden access to his flat by East Riding council which promised to store his possessions until he was officially declared dead. However, when an inquest was held two years after his disappearance, the family discovered that the contents of his flat had been disposed of.

“The council told us that we were not allowed to enter the flat and remove any items because my uncle could not give permission,” said his niece, Charlotte Bracegirdle.

“It said that once it had repossessed the property through the courts, it would take a full inventory of the contents and put them into storage until an inquest. My mum contacted them when an inquest date was set and received a two-line email, which didn’t even address her by name, stating that the contents had been disposed of as is ‘standard procedure’ when a property has stood empty for a long period. We suspect some of the more high-value items may have been sold.”

The family, who live in London and did not have a key to the flat, say that the council has refused to tell them what happened to the items, which included family heirlooms and sensitive documents.

Bracegirdle’s niece Charlotte said personal items were destroyed that were important to the family, including a games table that Robert and his siblings had initialled and given to their father when he retired.

“This was one item I so wanted to cherish, along with a tapestry made by my grandmother and five paintings I’d given him. The police were not allowed to give us his phone and iPad until a death certificate had been issued following the inquest, so we don’t know how the council was able to throw all his belongings.”

The Guardian recently reported on daughters of a deceased council tenant who were barred from his flat and told the contents may be disposed of.

According to the probate expert Giles Peaker, partner of Anthony Gold Solicitors, relatives of council tenants who die without having made a will usually have to wait for a grant of probate before they can enter a property. However, in Bracegirdle’s case, probate could not be applied for until he was officially declared dead two years later, by which time his property had been disposed of.

“Under the Tort (Interference with Goods) Act 1977 the council would have to keep the deceased tenant’s belongings secure and serve a notice on the administrator, executor and/or on the public trustee requiring collection of the belongings before disposing of them. It appears that something has gone very wrong here,” Peaker said.

East Riding council declined to respond to questions about when and how Bracegirdle’s belongings were disposed of.

It said in a statement: “The council offers our deepest condolences, and regrets that the council’s actions caused distress at a difficult time for Mr Bracegirdle’s family. We acknowledge, now and at the time, that matters should have been dealt in a more sympathetic way. In response to the concerns that the family members have raised, we have changed our processes to ensure that similar cases are managed in a more sensitive way. This case is currently being dealt with by our insurers so we cannot comment in more detail at this time.”

Bracegirdle’s sister, Christina Bracegirlde, said she had not received an apology and had to contact the council repeatedly for answers that never came.

“Their curt responses have shown no understanding of our loss and have added to the grief of a family whose much-loved brother and uncle probably took his own life,” she said. “They have stolen memories from us as if my brother was of no value.”