Mystery surrounds the death of a devoted couple whose bodies were discovered together at their Oxford home.

Police said their deaths were unexplained and they were making further investigations.

Albert Rhymes and his wife, whose name has not been revealed, had lived in Cricket Road, Cowley, for half a century. They were often seen walking together hand in hand.

Neighbours who had often greeted them in the street said they knew very little about them.

The couple, believed to be in their early 80s, and who had not been seen for some days, were found by a relative on Thursday, police said.

Detectives were continuing their investigations today and a report will be prepared for the Oxfordshire Coroner, Nicholas Gardiner. Mr Rhymes was a keen gardener who had tended an allotment nearby for many years. A fellow allotment-holder, who declined to be named, said he had known Mr Rhymes for 20 years, and described him as a "super gardener who knew what he was doing".

Cyril Bushnell, of Howard Street, said he often passed the couple as they pottered about in their carefully-tended front garden, outside their neat, mid-terrace bungalow.

"I last saw them last week," he said. "They were walking hand-in-hand, as they always did. They were a devoted couple."

A neighbour in Howard Street said Mr Rhymes had undergone a serious heart operation about 18 months ago and had not enjoyed good health since. The sentiment was echoed at the Howard Street newsagents, where Mr Rhymes used to call in for his newspaper.

A staff member said: "They haven't been coming here for a long time, but every time you saw them they were holding hands.

"They kept themselves to themselves."