Body found under huge pile of rubbish hoarded in tiny flat for decades
THE body of a hoarder was found by police buried under this mountain of rubbish at his home.
It took specialist cleaners five hours to clear a space so officers could reach 63-year-old James Pettit.
They broke into the property on Tuesday after a call from worried neighbours.
The body of the former gas fitter could only be safely recovered after council workers filled three flatbed trucks with objects from the maisonette.
A narrow staircase leading to the tiny flat in Erdington, Birmingham, could be seen overflowing with papers, bottles and rubbish.
One worker said: “It was 10 times worse upstairs. The police said it was too dangerous and unsafe to move the body.They had to call for assistance.”
Mr Pettit had lived at the property for around 40 years, neighbours said.
Two years ago he tripped down his cluttered stairs and smashed through a glass door, they said. Mr Pettit
Flatbed trucks used to carry debris from flat in Birmingham always appeared well turned out, according to neighbours, and was seen getting into a Bentley just a few weeks ago. One said: “The strange thing is that he always appeared well dressed. You’d see him walking down the street with his dry cleaning.
“That always struck me, that he would get his clothes dry cleaned and then go back into that flat. I went in 25 years ago and there was no room to move.” Another resident said: “He was a very quiet man but he had a good job. He would get taxis everywhere. Recently I saw him getting into a Bentley.”
A police spokesman said: “The death is not being treated as suspicious and has been referred to the coroner.”