Is THIS Britain’s worst hoarder? Bodies of mummified cats are discovered in among piles of belongings left in home – as cleaners say it is the ‘worst case’ they have ever seen
Bodies of mummified cats were discovered among piles of belongings by cleaners sent to tackle a hoarder’s home in the ‘worst case’ they have ever seen.
Workers were left shocked after making the surprising discovery at a Lancashire home packed to the rafters with junk including old kitchen appliances, newspapers, stacked storage boxes and office furniture.
It was so full of stuff that it required a ladder to climb through the second-floor window because piles of trash blocked all other entrances.
Among the rotting rubble were the bodies of up to four domestic cats, which had been placed on shelves and wrapped in newspaper.
The extreme case came to light after the male homeowner, in his late 70s, who lived alone in the property, died without any known next of kin.
He is believed to have been hoarding for more than 30 years, experts said.
BEFORE: A ladder was needed to climb through the second floor window because piles of trash blocked all other entrances
BEFORE: The house was filled to the brim with junk, including old kitchen appliances, newspapers, stacked storage boxes and office furniture
NA: It took the company’s cleaning team 45 hours to make any progress on the case
The teams were ordered to evacuate the house in February, but were initially unable to enter the unkempt building.
It took the firm’s team 45 hours to make any progress in the case as the house was filled with such a huge amount of rubbish that they were unable to enter the property.
A ladder was placed up to a second-floor bedroom window to allow access and from there they began the arduous task of removing piles of rubbish in dozens of containers.
Heir hunting company Blanchards, based in Kent, which hunted for the homeowner’s relatives, described the case as ‘heartbreaking’.
One said: ‘It was one of our saddest and most memorable cases.
“I’ve cleared hundreds of properties and never have I seen hoarding so bad that I had to climb a ladder and enter through the upstairs window because all other entrances were blocked.”
Eventually heirs were found for him – second cousins twice removed who did not know him.
It is believed that the man had plans to start a telephone exchange business, where the hoarding began in the 1990s.
BEFORE: Storage boxes and plastic bags filled with trash were piled to the ceiling in the trash-filled house
BEFORE: A narrow staircase was also used to store items that posed a trip and fall hazard
BEFORE: Trash could be seen covering the entire landing with boxes of old telephone equipment and other items of little to no value
Dead plants were found inside the home, along with other pieces of rotting debris in the home
Much of the house was cluttered with old telephone equipment that he didn’t throw away when the business plan didn’t get off the ground.
A spokesman for Blanchards added: ‘He wanted to open a telecoms museum as telecoms was his previous area of work.
‘Over the years he collected mountains of telecom technology. He started storing these telecom artifacts in containers.
The bodies of three or four of the owner’s pet cats were placed on shelves and wrapped in newspaper
“When they were full, he started filling under the floorboards.
‘Then the entire upstairs was full of boxes, then the entire downstairs, and the hoarding continued from there.
‘A museum was never opened and after forty years the building was almost uninhabitable, full of rubbish and dead pets.
‘As we come across so many cases like this, we have come to the conclusion that hoarding is a mental illness and although many people consider it nonsense, for hoarders it is considered very valuable and even sentimental.’
Hoarding disorder is a recognized mental health condition in which a person collects an excessive number of items, which may not have much monetary value, resulting in an unmanageable amount of clutter.
Sometimes they only have small paths through their homes, while the rest of the space is full of artifacts and trash.
Some who suffer from the condition may realize they have a problem but hesitate to seek help because they may feel embarrassed or ashamed.
AFTER: Much of the rubbish was cleared away by cleaners, leaving a bare house with only skeletal remains of what was a kitchen
AFTER: House looked unrecognizable after cleaners cleared away bins full of rubbish hoarded over 30 years
AFTER: The bathroom of the property in Lancashire
AFTER: After the trash was removed, the extent of the damage to the property from decades of hoarding was revealed
Hoarding can lead to unsanitary conditions and encourage rodent or insect infestations, as well as pose a deadly fire risk.
No one knows exactly what causes the condition, but it has been linked to trauma and loss, difficult feelings, childhood experiences and a family history of the condition.
According to mental health charity Mind: ‘Many of us have possessions that we consider special and things that we keep. But this is different from hoarding.
“If you’re hoarding, it’s because you may have emotional connections or beliefs about all your stuff.
“This makes it very difficult to get rid of something.”