A Manxman has been found dead at his home in Manchester by would-be thieves.

The pair were looking for scrap metal at the back of Kenneth Christian’s house when they noticed his back door was open.

They found his body inside the house and dialled 999.

It's believed Mr Christian's body could have been there for several weeks after he died from a heart attack.

The intruders found the 68-year-old lying at the bottom of the stairs but, rather than carry out their intended theft, left the property and called police.

Described as ‘an eccentric recluse’, Mr Christian was one of eight siblings but had grown up in a children’s home on the Isle Of Man. He cut himself off from his family after moving to Longsight from the Island in the 1960s.

His neighbours knew him as Derek and he also had the nickname ‘Wheelie Bin Willy’ because of his habit of arranging people's bins for collection.

Relatives only learned of his death when police made an appeal on Manx Radio.

His niece Jean Gallagher never met him but said she believed he had enjoyed a fascinating life and he would have been welcomed with open arms on the Island. Sadly he never wished to come back.

Mr Christian's body will now be cremated and his ashes returned to the Isle Of Man.

Mrs Gallagher told reporters: ‘We are bringing him home at last’.