A pensioner at the centre of a tragedy in Salford died while taking on a home improvement project involving a gas appliance, the Manchester Evening News understands. Roger Snelham was tragically found dead at his home on Seddon Street, in Little Hulton, on Thursday afternoon (January 2).
Neighbours were evacuated from their homes as police, firefighters, paramedics and gas safety engineers all descended on the street. Mr Snelham is believed to have been installing an appliance at his home when tragedy struck.
An investigation into the exact cause of his death is ongoing. Forensics officers, detectives and workers from Cadent Gas were all in attendance at the scene today (January 3).
Police have appealed to find the 79-year-old’s next of kin following his death. Neighbours told the M.E.N. Mr Snelham had worked as a builder and regularly carried out home improvement projects, with scaffolding erected outside his home for ‘years’.
Alma, a neighbour of Mr Snelham’s, told the M.E.N.: “I’ve lived on this street for 60 years, I knew Roger well. He moved in in the 1980s and ever since he’s had scaffolding round the house and was constantly adding things to it. But he never finished it.
Police gather photo evidence from the area
(Image: Manchester Evening News)
“Adding en-suites and everything and extensions – but it was just him living there, so who was it for? I used to go round for cups of coffee with him, and when I saw him in the garden, I’d say hello, ’cause he was on his own. It’s a real shame what’s happened. To have found him like that is horrible.”
Other neighbours described Mr Snelham as a ‘quiet’ man who ‘kept himself to himself’. One man, who lived close to him for 10 years, said: “There’s always been scaffolding up… he’d start something and then stop half way through and start something else.
“It’s sad what’s happened, but we all suspect that it might have been his own doing, installing something and it’s gone wrong.” Mr Snelham’s next-door neighbour, Val, added: “Not many people on this street knew him.
“I didn’t really have much to do with him myself… but I know he worked all his life as a master builder. A friend knocked on the door a few times over a few days and got no answer. So he went round the back and broke in, and found him.”
Neighbours said there was always scaffolding outside Mr Snelham’s home
(Image: Manchester Evening News)
Greater Manchester Police is trying to find Mr Snelham’s loved ones following the tragedy. Neighbours told the M.E.N. he may have family in Canada.
A GMP spokesperson said: “Shortly before 2pm yesterday (Thursday, January 2), we received a report for concern for welfare of a man in a property on Seddon Street in Little Hulton. Officers attended and discovered what is believed to be a gas leak at the property and as a precaution whilst the fire service carried out enquiries, a cordon was established and neighbouring properties were evacuated.
“Sadly, Roger Snelham (5/12/45) was found deceased. We are seeking assistance from the community to locate any relatives or loved ones of Mr Snelham.
“His death is not being treated as suspicious and a file will now be prepared for the coroner. Anyone with any information about Roger’s next of kin is asked to come forward and speak to the Police Coroner’s Office on 0161 856 4687 or 101 quoting log 1527 of 2/1/25.”
Cadent gas workers investigate the scene
(Image: Manchester Evening News)
In a statement, Cadent confirmed it had fixed a gas appliance inside the house to make it safe. It also confirmed that there was no wider gas issue neighbours needed to be concerned about.
Phil Hendrick, Head of Customer Operations at Cadent, previously said: “As the gas emergency service for Greater Manchester, we supported the police and fire service at an incident in Little Hulton yesterday (January 2). Sadly, we learned that a man had died and we offer our condolences to his family, friends and neighbours.
“Our job in an incident like this is to assist in making sure everything associated with gas is safe. I can confirm that our engineers took action to make safe an internal gas appliance. There are no issues with the local gas network.
“After completing our checks, we left the scene, with other agencies now leading on taking forward investigations to establish a cause of death.” He added: “As general advice, I would like to issue a reminder that if anyone ever smells gas, or suspects carbon monoxide, call the gas emergency service immediately – day or night – on 0800 111 999.”