But the alarm was raised by two friends when he failed to return to a flat they were renting in Venosc.

BBC: Simon Daw

As a result, they are buying their first house or flat at a later age than previous generations, and renting for longer.

ECONOMIST: The housing market

Mr Latham said that on the night of 18 or 19 April Thomas was attacked, stabbed and robbed of drugs at the flat on Reading's Oxford Road which he had been renting for a short time.

BBC: Mary-Ann was found dead in Reading's Prospect Park on 7 May