A SALESMAN came home from a business trip to find police had kicked his door in - because they feared he was dead.
Officers were called to Tom Roy's flat in Cressing Road, Braintree, after a neighbour reported a bad smell.
But the 42-year-old had flown to Phoenix, Arizona, earlier that day and returned home at 5pm last Monday after more than 16 hours of travelling to find his front door boarded over and a note to contact Braintree Police Station.
Mr Roy, a diabetic, said he spent more than 30 minutes trying to contact the station before going there in person, to then be passed onto the control centre. He managed to get into his house two hours later using a screwdriver and police arranged for a contractor to secure the entrance.
It turned out the bad smell was from a large stain outside a nearby flat, which Mr Roy said came from a resident's rubbish bag.
The police have apologised following the incident on June 19 and the door was completely mended on Friday.
