A woman aged in her 80s was trapped in her bath for three days, Essex Police has revealed.

A concerned neighbour phoned police at 2pm on February 7 because the woman was not answering the door for post and still had her curtains drawn, which were out of character.

Pc Tom Matthews and student officer Tom Currin attended and forced entry to the property off Purfleet Road, Aveley and heard the woman call for help.

After the woman was rescued from the tub, she was taken to hospital to be checked over.

“The woman sadly has no nearby family or friends that are able to make regular visits to check on her,” Mr Matthews said.

“When we found the woman she told us that she’d been trapped in the bath for up to three days.

“This incident is an example on why it’s essential to check on your elderly and vulnerable neighbours.

“In this case a neighbour spotted a few minor things that were out of character and she rightly called for help.

“We would like to praise her for taking the time to consider the welfare of an elderly person within her community.

“When we arrived we could tell that something was wrong and we had no option to force entry to the property in order to help the woman, who was quickly assessed and taken to hospital.”