POLICE have named an elderly couple who were found dead at their Totton home.

The bodies of William James White, 78, and June White, 74, were discovered at their St Michael's Road bungalow on Friday.

A post-mortem examination was to be carried out today but the double tragedy is not being treated as murder.

That means police will have to establish if one or both pensioners committed suicide, or if their deaths were the result of an accident.

Detectives need to hear from anyone who can describe the couple's health and state of mind in the days leading up to their deaths.

Officers are contacting community nurses and GPs to see if they were seriously ill or had some other problem that was preying on their mind.

They are also attempting to discover if fumes from a gas appliance played any part in the incident.

Representatives from two gas safety organisations, Transco and Corgi, visited the couple's semi-detached bungalow in St Michael's Road shortly after the bodies were discovered.

Two front windows were left open all day - possibly in an attempt to ventilate the property.

The pensioners were found dead when a carer made a routine visit to their home at 9.30am last Friday.

A police spokesman said: "We're not treating the deaths as murder at this stage, but are keeping an open mind in all other respects.

"Various inquiries are being made in an attempt to piece together the couple's final movements and locate the last person who saw them alive.

"In particular we want to talk to their milkman, their paperboy and anyone else who called at the house on a daily basis.

"We need to know when they last saw the pensioners and what sort of response they got.

"We'll also be speaking to community nurses and GPs to see if the couple were suffering from any illnesses that could account for the circumstances in which they found dead.

"Our inquiry will ultimately be guided by the result of the post-mortem examination, which is likely to be carried out today."