WHEN an elderly woman dies alone from hypothermia in a flat piled high with rubbish, we feel an automatic sense of concern about how this could have been allowed to happen.

But the facts surrounding the death of an 87-year old Horwich woman reveal an independent lady who had deliberately selected her own lifestyle. She mixed socially and saw neighbours when she wanted to, and wrote to Social Services saying she did not need help. Although the ultimate result was tragic - and some may feel the authorities should have insisted on helping - we believe that the individual's right to choose a way of life is an intrinsic one which should not, wherever possible, diminish with age.

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