MUMMY FOUND IN FLAT

Jordi Giro, who had bought a flat in the Costa Brava resort of Rosas at an auction after the previous owner defaulted on her payments, got a nasty surprise when he went to inspect his new home for the first time - he found her mummified body sitting on a sofa. Maria Luisa Zamora failed to keep up payments on her mortgage because she had in fact died in 2001. Police said the body had probably been preserved by the salty sea air. Coroners said Sra Zamora died of natural causes. But questions are being asked about why no-one has been concerned as to her whereabouts for the last six years. Police said neither her estranged husband nor her children in Madrid registered a missing persons report for the 55-year-old woman. Neighbours said Sra Zamora had bought the flat as a holiday home and when the garden grew over they assumed she had simply stayed away.