An investigation into how a pensioner died in a freezing council flat in Eastwood is still unfinished more than a year after he died.

Now Southend West MP David Amess has urged council bosses to urgently publish their findings into whether they could have done more for Josef Krasy.

A post mortem found that Mr Krasy, who was in his 70s, died of natural causes through heart disease at his flat in Beaver Tower, Mansel Close, in November 1998.

But social services bosses at Southend Council came to a different conclusion after an initial investigation, deciding that he had in fact died of hypothermia.

His death sparked Mr Amess to launch his Warm Homes and Energy Conservation Bill which will require the Government to fit energy efficient measures to eight million homes where the occupants cannot afford to keep warm.

But today he said he was astonished that the investigation, led by staff in chief executive and town clerk George Krawiec's department, had not been completed.

A council spokeswoman confirmed that social services bosses had concluded Mr Krasy, who was Polish but had lived in the UK since the Second World War, died of hypothermia.

She said: "It is unsatisfactory that we have not reached a conclusion and we regret that is the situation.

"The chief executive and town clerk George Krawiec is expecting a rapid conclusion to the investigation which will be completed by the borough solicitor."

Mr Amess said: "It has taken them over a year to come to a conclusion. This is ridiculous. Mr Krasy used to come to see me on a regular basis."

Mr Krasy wrote to Mr Amess in 1998 claiming he did not have enough money to live on. There was also confusion over what benefits he was allowed to claim.

A member of staff from the social services visited him in October 1998 but reported that Mr Krasy had rejected all offers of help saying his problems were financial.

In a letter to Eastwood ward councillor Chris Walker in June this year, social services director Jane Held said: "From our records it is clear that Mr Krasy died of hypothermia and at the time of his death there had been several requests to social services to intervene."

She said they had, but that he had rejected their offers of help.

She added: "To date I am satisfied that social services acted properly within the limits of the information they had."

Mr Amess: "As he got older he became confused by his financial circumstances. Mr role was to try and bring together all the agencies to try and assist him. I went through all that but he died. He died frozen. I think we all failed him.

"I think it is extraordinary there is no conclusion after a year. It is most unsatisfactory. This must never happen again.

"The tragedy with this chap is that he needed help and it does not appear to me he got it. Whether it was a misunderstanding I don't know. But I know that he died in poverty."

He added: "He lived in a council house. It was the council who provided his heating.

"It may be that this chap could not be given any help whatsoever but all I can say is it is very unsatisfactory in this day and age for someone to die of hypothermia in council accommodation.

"It wasn't that no-one knew about this. The local authority knew. But I am still waiting to find out what happened."

The Bill has already been backed by 400 MPs as well as Help the Aged, Age Concern, the Child Poverty Action Group, Church Action on Poverty and Unison.

The Bill is likely to have its second reading on March 10 next year.

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