THE MAN found dead at his home last week sparking fears of an ebola outbreak was a former council leader, it has emerged.

Echo news reports that Andy Smith, 64, was found dead just five days after he had returned from Nigeria and West Africa – a region of the world currently gripped by the lethal fever which has claimed the lives of more than 2,000 people.

His death led to a hazardous medical team being called in to assess his body before tests later confirmed he did not have the killer disease.

Mr Smith, was a Labour councillor in West Thurrock and South Stifford and cabinet member on Thurrock Council having led the council as leader in the late Nineties.

A spokesman for Public Health England said that Mr Smith had been to Nigeria and West Africa, but not in infected areas and ebola had been ruled out as the cause of his death.

Responding to the 999 call it received to attend his home in Nutberry Avenue, in Grays, last Tuesday, the East of England Ambulance Service sent a hazardous area response team who entered the property and confirmed that Mr Smith was deceased.

A spokesman for the ambulance service said: “Public Health England were alerted due to the man’s travel history.

“We have a protocols in place instructing staff on how to act when dealing with suspected cases of a variety of diseases, including ebola.”

Police confirmed that a post-mortem examination revealed he had died suddenly – not as a result of ebola – and that a file had been passed to the coroner.