Tributes have been paid to a couple in their 70s after they were found dead at a property in Braintree, Essex.

Officers and emergency services were called to Fisher Way at 3.40pm on Tuesday after reports of concerns for the two individuals’ welfare, Essex Police said.

They found two people had died and the circumstances are being investigated.

The PA news agency understands the individuals were Eva and David Murr, a retired couple in their early 70s.

Police said they are treating the deaths as unexplained, but are not looking for anyone else in connection with the deaths, which they believe to have been an isolated incident.

The couple’s next of kin have been informed and are being supported by specialist officers.

Braintree deaths
Police officers at work (Claudia Rowan/PA)

A 62-year-old neighbour, who did not want to be named, said that he has known the couple since he first moved onto the quiet residential street 20 years ago.

“They were a very nice couple, he would come out and bring the bins out for us, and he’d always stop and have a chat,” the neighbour told PA, adding that Ms Murr had mobility issues and was cared for by her husband.

“It’s quite a shock.

“I feel very sorry for the family… they just seemed like a very nice couple.

“It’s the sort of thing you don’t expect to happen.

“They’ve got a conservatory, and they used to spend a lot of time just sitting in the conservatory talking, they were nice neighbours.

“Only a few weeks ago I helped him repair a bit of his roof, I held the ladder for him, we had a good relationship.”

The neighbour said he heard “distressed sobbing” coming from the house on Tuesday afternoon, before five ambulances and three police cars arrived at the scene and the road was blocked off.

Another neighbour, 60, told PA: “It’s horrible, it’s awful… all we know is that there have been a lot of police activities, and the forensic team were still there until late last night.

“It’s very quiet down here, it’s a cul-de-sac,” she added.