The father of man whose body was found at a Christchurch bedsit is having to make a difficult decision on whether to attend his funeral today.

33-year-old Tony Parnham was found dead in his room last Friday at Wigram Lodge after staff noticed a strange smell coming from his room.

It’s thought he may have been dead for up to two weeks, before his body was discovered.

His father Ian Parnham told Chris Lynch he got the dreadful knock at the door last week by police who said they had devastating news.

He said police told him they found Tony’s body in his room, and it’s thought “his body may have been there for up to three weeks as it had been deteriorating quote badly.”

He said the cause of death could take up to three months, because of the condition of the body.

Mr Parnham says his ex-partner told him his son was a diabetic, which may have played a part in his death.

He said he hadn’t seen his son in nine years after falling out with him.

Mr Parnham says his son’s funeral is today, but he hasn’t decided if he’ll attend the funeral due to the family falling out.

Lodge owner, Liz Harris told Newstalk ZB they had no warnings – the man’s rent was paid via automatic payment and he was rarely seen at the best of times.

She says there were none of the usual signs a death had occurred and staff are very distressed.