HE was one of life's casualties.'

The words of Stephen Bate, the grieving cousin of William Billy' Beff, who lived in squalor and died alone, failed by the services he needed most.

After burying him in a pauper's grave on Friday, his family revealed how Billy, who had bladder cancer: was transferred from Warrington Hospital without their knowledge two weeks before he died was only discovered in Clatterbridge Hospital when nurses rang to say he was about to die had lived in squalor in his Arena Housing flat for months clearly struggling to care for himself was denied a priest at his funeral because social services said the family owed them money "To see him end up like this is beyond sad, it's shameful," says Stephen, Billy's next of kin.

"The system that's supposed to help people like him is failing badly. None of the services had asked themselves if this man could cope.

"Someone should have stepped in and taken responsibility. It's a sad indictment that no-one did."

Mr Bate says Warrington knew how to contact him because they had called when Billy was first admitted after collapsing in early January.

Yet only a call from Clatterbridge prevented the 67-year-old from missing one last goodbye before his cousin died.

"Warrington were quick to tell me he was in there but couldn't be bothered to tell me they were moving him, possibly to die," the 52-year-old pipe-fitter, from Bruche, said.

Billy's mental problems went undiagnosed for years despite frequent treatments for gangrene and trench foot.

He lived in flats in Sharp Street. When window-fitters visited last summer they refused to enter Number 90, such were the conditions inside.

When Stephen, who was made redundant in the summer, rang the council to ask for help to pay for the funeral, he was told that his cousin still owed £79 on a loan from 1991 when a traffic accident left him unable to work.

Billy was buried in a council-owned plot at Warrington cemetery with his two worldly possessions: a silver watch and a Bible.

Stephen acted as a makeshift priest as a handful of mourners gathered in the teaming rain to pay their respects.

He deserved better than this, he really did," Stephen told them.