‘Britain’s biggest hoarder’ crammed 60,000 items from floor to ceiling inside terrace home
A £4m treasure trove of more than 60,000 items gathered by a hoarder have been discovered crammed inside a terraced house.
Most of the enormous collection, that was stacked floor to ceiling in every room, consisted of unopened parcels that had been delivered to the property since 2002.
The hoard was so vast that the late owner was forced to move into a bed and breakfast for the last year of his life because he ran out of room for himself.
He rented a one bedroom flat, two garages, part of a neighbour’s garden and 24 council wheelie bins to stash all the stuff.
Unique Auctions at Lincoln were called to clear the three bedroom house in Nottingham by the hoarder’s brother who had no idea of the sheer scale of the collection.
It took a team of eight men in three vans 180 hours over six weeks to empty the house of all the items – and a further four weeks to unwrap the packages.
Terry Woodcock, of Unique Auctions has been tasked with selling the collection over a four-day sale.
He said he has never seen anything like it in 50 years of working in the business and described the late owner as possibly being Britain’s biggest hoarder.
He said: “This collection is beyond belief.
“I met the man’s brother at the house and he was just as shocked as I was. He had no idea his brother lived like he did.
“His house and garage were literally crammed full of items so much so that he had spent the last year of his life living in a B&B.
“He rented a one bedroom flat just up the road and that was the same as well as two rented garages.
“I have no idea how he paid for it all and neither does his brother.
“He was a compulsive buyer of parcels that he was never going to open.
“His intention was to buy and buy and buy and only unpack it all when he wanted to retire. His brother knew that much but he had no clue as to the scale of it.
“His neighbour said he used to have a special Royal Mail delivery every Friday of a van loaded with parcels.”
It is thought that the owner bought most of the items by eBay but did also attend conferences and conventions to collect thousands of other items.
The overall estimate for the hoard has been put anywhere between £500,000 and £4m.
Mr Woodcock said: “He didn’t buy rubbish, a lot of it was top quality stuff.
“After he passed away his brother’s first inclination was to send it all to the landfill. Luckily he didn’t.
“We couldn’t get in through the front door so we had to go around the back.
“We were totally amazed at what we saw. Everywhere in the property was full to the ceiling, it was very difficult to move around.
“It was impossible to get up the stairs and you couldn’t see the top of the staircase.
“We found out that when he filled up the house the owner rented two garages and when they were full he rented part of the garden next door.
“We used eight men in three vans every day to empty the house.
“We started unpacking the parcels four weeks ago and we are still doing it. We employ 18 people and everyone is working on this collection.
“One dealer who has been to see us reckons it could be worth £4m.”
The hoard includes thousands of items of Beatles memorabilia, including a rare Hard Day’s Night LP signed by the Fab Four which could be worth £4,000.
There are also signed photos and letters relating to JFK, Winston Churchill, Gandhi and Elvis Presley.
The collection includes more than 6,000 vintage comics, including a rare Justice League Anerica Number One which is valued at £1,200.
There are more than 4,000 rare books, 3,000 vintage chemistry sets and brand new cameras and lenses.
There are also 12 Rickenbacker guitars from the 1960s and 70s which could sell for £10,000 each.
Also included in the sale are a collection of Russian and American space exploration memorabilia that includes slides and photos as well as cinema reels, radio equipment, ghetto blasters from the 1980s, Airfix models and lots of jewellery.
A lot of the items are in a brand new or pristine condition – many of which haven’t been opened or touched.
The hoarder, who died suddenly earlier this year at the age of 44, was a bachelor who lived alone in the three bedroom house in Nottingham.
It is thought he started it about 18 years ago with the intention of selling it all one day to fund his retirement.
He worked as a computer programmer and it remains a mystery as to where he found the money to buy it all.
The sale takes place between October 22-25, for more information, visit Unique Auctions website