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11 months ago
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Bodies of several mummified cats were discovered among piles of belongings by cleaners sent in to tackle a hoarder's home in the 'worst case' they have ever seen.
Cleaners were left horrified after making the startling discovery in a house, in Lancashire, that was stuffed to the rafters with junk including old kitchen appliances, newspapers, stacked storage boxes and office furniture.
A ladder was needed to climb through the second storey window as piles of rubbish were blocking all other entrances, with teams tasked with clearing the home in February, barely able to enter the unkempt property at first.
The extreme case was uncovered after the male homeowner in his late 70s, who lived in the property alone, died without any known close family. It is believed he was hoarding for upwards of three decades, according to experts.
The heartbreaking photos show among the rotting debris bodies of three or four of the owner's pet cats, which had been put on shelves and wrapped in newspaper, as well cramped spaces, with barely any room to move, packed with items stored in boxes or plastic bags.
A ladder was needed to climb through the second storey window as piles of rubbish were blocking all other entrances
A hoarding disorder is a recognised mental health condition where someone collects an excessive number of items, which may not have much monetary value, resulting in unmanageable amounts of clutter.
An heir hunting company - Kent-based Blanchards - hunted down any relatives of the homeowner.
It took the a team from the firm 45 hours to make some headway on the case, with the home packed with such a huge volume of rubbish, they were unable to enter the property.
Multiple covid masks were also discovered hanging by the back door.
A ladder was put up to a second floor bedroom window to allow entrance and from there, they began the arduous task of removing piles of rubbish in dozens of skips.
It appeared that the homeowner was unable to part with his beloved pets, wrapping their bodies in newspaper and storing them on a shelf next to an armchair, where it is believed he spent most of his time.
The home was stuffed to the rafters with junk including old kitchen appliances, newspapers, stacked storage boxes and office furniture
Storage boxes and plastic bags filled with rubbish were piled up to the ceiling in the home packed with junk
A narrow staircase was also used to store items creating a hazard for trips and falls
Rubbish could be seen covering the entire landing with boxes of old telephone equipment and other items with little to no value
Dead plants were discovered in the property amongst other rotting bits of debris at the home
The team from Blanchards described the case as 'heartbreaking.'
One said: 'It was one of our saddest and most memorable cases.
'I have cleared hundreds of properties and never have I seen hoarding be so bad that I have had to climb a ladder and enter through the upstairs window as all other entrances were blocked.'
Eventually heirs for him were found - second cousins twice removed who did not know him.
It is believed that he had plans to start a phone exchange business, which is where the hoarding began in the 1990s.
Bodies of three or four of the owner's pet cats were put on shelves and wrapped in newspaper
Much of the house was jam-packed full of old phone equipment which he didn't get rid of when the business plan didn't materialise.
A spokesperson for Blanchards added: 'He wanted to open a telecom museum as telecom was his previous line of work.
'Over the years he collected mounds of telecom technology. He began storing these telecom artifacts in containers.
'Then, when they were full he began filling under the floorboards.
'Then all of upstairs was full of boxes, then all of downstairs, and the hoarding progressed from there.
'No museum was ever opened and after 40 years the property was almost impossible to move around in, filled with rubbish and dead pets.
'Encountering so many cases like this, we have come to learn hoarding is a mental illness and although to most people a lot of it would be deemed as rubbish, to hoarders it is considered highly valuable and even sentimental.'
Hoarding disorder is classed as a mental condition where the affected person feels the need to retain vast items, usually of little to no value whatsoever.
Sometimes they only have small pathways through their homes as the rest of the space is crammed with artefacts and rubbish.
Some suffering with the condition may realise they have a problem but are reluctant to seek help as they may be embarrassed or ashamed.
It took the cleaning team from the firm 45 hours to make some headway on the case
After much of the rubbish was cleared by cleaners, a bare home with with only skeletal remains of what was a kitchen remained
The extreme case was uncovered after the male homeowner in his late 70s, who lived in the property alone, died without any known close family
Once the rubbish was removed, the extent of the damage to the property from decades of hoarding were revealed
Hoarding can lead to unhygienic conditions and encourage rodent or insect infestations, as well as become a deadly fire risk.
No-one knows exactly what causes the disorder 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 belongings we consider special and things we save. But this is different from hoarding.
'When you hoard, it's because you might have emotional connections or beliefs about all your things.
'This makes it very hard to get rid of anything.'
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