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

• The extreme case was uncovered after the male homeowner in his 70 died 
• **CONTENT WARNING: Some readers may find images upsetting ** 

Bodies of 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. 

Workers 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. 

It was so rammed full of belongings that a ladder was needed to climb through the second storey window as piles of rubbish were blocking all other entrances.

Among the rotting debris were the bodies of up to four pet cats, which had been put on shelves and wrapped in newspaper.

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, experts said.

BEFORE: A ladder was needed to climb through the second storey window as piles of rubbish were blocking all other entrances

BEFORE: The home was stuffed to the rafters with junk including old kitchen appliances, newspapers, stacked storage boxes and office furniture

AFTER: It took the cleaning  team from the firm 45 hours to make some headway on the case

The teams were tasked with clearing the home in February, but were barely able to enter the unkempt property at first.

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. 

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. 

Heir hunting company Blanchards, based in Kent, who hunted down relatives of the homeowner, 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 the man had plans to start a phone exchange business, which is where the hoarding began in the 1990s.

BEFORE: Storage boxes and plastic bags filled with rubbish were piled up to the ceiling in the home packed with junk

BEFORE: A narrow staircase was also used to store items creating a hazard for trips and falls

BEFORE: 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

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.

Bodies of three or four of the owner’s pet cats were put on shelves and wrapped in newspaper

‘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.’

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. 

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. 

AFTER: Much of the rubbish was cleared by cleaners, a bare home with with only skeletal remains of what was a kitchen remained

AFTER: The home looked unrecognisable after cleaners cleared out skips full of rubbish that had been hoarded over a 30-year period

AFTER: The bathroom of the property in Lancashire 

AFTER: 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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