A "sold" sign lies on the ground in an undated file photo. An estate agent who took a prospective buyer to view a house in central England found the owner hanging dead in a closet, the agency said on Thursday. REUTERS/File

LONDON (Reuters) - An estate agent who took a prospective buyer to view a house in central England found the owner hanging dead in a closet, the agency said Thursday.

It was the first viewing of the 350,000-pound ($700,000) house which had been on the market for a week. The owner was hanging from a belt inside a walk-in closet in the main bedroom.

“It was quite a shock,” said a spokesman for estate agents Hartleys. “Our agent quickly ushered everyone out, locked the property and called the authorities.”

The owner, a single man in his 40s, is thought to have committed suicide. He inherited the house from his mother who died recently, the estate agents said.