They were too late for this guy, I guess.
Posted on 01/07/2009 9:54:12 AM PST by BGHater
A man whose home was so full of rubbish that he had to build an intricate network of tunnels to get around may have died after losing his way in the labyrinth.
Investigators believe Gordon Stewart, 74, died as a result of dehydration, after becoming unable to find his way out of the mass of carrier bags, boxes, old furniture and other junk.
Police had to call in a specialist diving team because the smell from the house, Broughton, Buckinghamshire, was so overpowering.
Neighbours had become concerned that they had not seen Mr Stewart for several days and raised the alarm.
According to witnesses, the officers were faced with mounds of foul-smelling garbage which he had used to construct tunnels around his home.
The smell was so over-powering police had to call in a specialist team - equipped with breathing apparatus - to search the two-storey house. They discovered a confusing system of tunnels networking around the interior of the building, with Mr Stewart lying dead inside.
Locals say Mr Stewart, who wore a pony-tail, was often spotted riding his bike around the streets.
One neighbour, who asked not to be named, said: "He was slightly eccentric, but very clever. He was just a collector. He came home with a load of cardboard boxes and lived in his own world." A second described his death as a "tragedy".
Neighbours said Mr Stewart's home had been accumulating rubbish for at least 10 years.
A car dating back to the 1950s stands in the garage believed to have been left untouched for years as garbage built up around it.
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
uncleanliness killed him.
Epic Collyer Brothers Fail
Beat me to it!
no kids? no old folks home?
“Eccentric”? That doesn’t even begin to cover it.
And just think, British taxpayers were paying for his healthcare.
If you are rich you are "eccentric", if you are poor you are "crazy".
They were too late for this guy, I guess.
Yep the old double standard- as a wealthy friend explained it to me years ago- if a girl from the wrong side of town is sleeping around she is a tramp- if she is from a "fine" family she is merely overly affectionate.
So the question is, did this man have enough money to be eccentric?
Not clever enough, obviously.
I have never seen a case like this where there wasn’t an underlying mental disorder, be it from old age, depression, or whatever. What a shame for someone to go out this way.
Thank you, the article was fascinating.
I remember hearing years ago (perhaps 20) that the last member of some wealth British family died, leaving the manor house to the government.
When the house was entered, it was discovered to be stuffed full of junk. Apparently over the centuries, the family horded everything. The would fill entire rooms with junk, and then seal the room.
I had heard that the government was going to document all of what was in the house, and then open it up to the public. Several times when visiting England, I asked members of the National Trust if they knew about the manor, and when it may be open to the public.
While only a few had ever heard about it, none knew when it would be open to the public. Has anyone else heard about this place?
Similar mental disorder as those who have 175 cats in their house.
When she died we hauled away 5 container loads of old newspapers she'd stored, some of them for decades.
You could barely move in her home when we started cleaning it up.
L
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.