THE death of a Warminster pensioner has sent shockwaves around a small housing estate.

Athol Rhodes, 85, was found hanging from a tree in the grounds of Woodmead care home, near his bungalow in The Mead.

Neighbour Gladys Laidlaw discovered the body while she was on her way to the doctor's surgery last Wednesday morning.

She said: "I'm still very shocked and I'm finding it hard to get it out of my mind. He was a quiet, friendly man."

Another neighbour, Muriel Page, said Mr Rhodes was always helpful and would bring her groceries and a newspaper from town.

She said: "I've been his neighbour for 12 years and I'm very, very shocked by his death."

Mr Rhodes' son, David, said he was always active but became depressed after suffering a stroke 12 months ago.

He said: "He was also struck down with pneumonia and never really recovered. He didn't eat for three weeks.

"He was frustrated because he couldn't do the things he used to do.

"The warden contacted me and told me about his death and I'm very upset."

Colin Newman, manager of Woodmead, said the tragedy has not affected any of the residents.

Police are now investigating the death. A spokesman said: "We received a call from ambulance control at 8.30am and a couple of units attended along with CID officers."

Ben Harding, from the charity Help the Aged, said that people can find themselves increasingly isolated as they get older.

He said: "This is obviously a tragedy for the man involved and his family.

"Declining health, the death of a partner or lack of an adequate income are just some of the factors which can increase the risk of isolation.

"There are ways to fight it, such as access to healthcare, proper counselling services and good welfare rights advice, but these are not always available."

Mr Rhodes was born in Bapton, near Salisbury, on March 31 1917. He went to school in Stockton before working as a life insurance salesman in the Codford area.

He served in North Africa and Italy during the Second World War and then worked for the Department of the Environment in Warminster until his retirement at the age of 62.

He met and married Halina after the war and moved to the town in the early 1950s.

Mr Rhodes enjoyed gardening and was well known for his tubs of geraniums, which were often on display outside his bungalow.

He leaves two sons, one brother and three sisters.