A five year-old boy and his seven year-old brother lived with their grandmother’s corpse for a week after she suddenly dropped dead.

Connie Taylor’s grandsons were unable to unlock her phone to call for help, but managed to feed, wash and dress themselves for five days.

It was only when a teacher raised the alarm over the prolonged absence from class that 71-year-old Connie’s body was discovered at their home in Talty, Texas.

Kristen Zastoupil, from Forney Independent School District, said: ‘They knew something was not right. They are used to communicating with this parent. And so when they didn’t get a response, they knew something was off.’

Connie, who adopted the unidentified boys, is believed to have died of natural causes, with an autopsy now set to determine her exact cause of death. The boys were taken into foster care while another relative applies for custody of them.

Police say the boys are doing well, considering the trauma of the ordeal they experienced. A family friend said Taylor had acted as a loving mother to her grandsons, who she had formally adopted from foster care just a month prior to her death.

Further information on the boys’ biological parents has not been released, NBCDFW reported.

Zastoupil said the tragedy highlighted how important teachers can be for their students’ welfare, even outside school.

She said: ‘They are always heroes in our eyes, but even more so… to have to share with them the outcome Friday was very heartbreaking and it was a really tough weekend.

‘They are thinking about their students, and that’s the first thought.’