Officials in New York have found the decomposing body of a man inside a van parked for weeks beneath a busy highway overpass, gathering parking tickets.

The city's medical examiner said George Morales, 59, had died naturally of heart disease.

His body was found in the back seat only when the vehicle was being towed away after members of the public reported a foul odour in the area.

Police said officers would not normally search vehicles they ticketed.

The daughter of Mr Morales said she couldn't understand how no one noticed her father inside the Chevy Ventura.

"They just gave him tickets," Jennifer Morales told the New York Daily News.

She said she had reported her father's disappearance, but the police said they had no record of it.

They did, however, say that they are looking into the case.