£4M HOARDER
Record haul filled house, flat, garages & bins
PILED HIGH Thousands of unopened parcels
THE country’s biggest hoarder built up a £4million treasure trove so big he had to move out of his packed flat into a bed-and-breakfast.
Ramann Shukla, 64, who died of a heart attack this summer, collected a recordbreaking hoard of 60,000 items.
Most of it was in unopened parcels that had been delivered to his home since 2002.
It filled not only his one- bedroom Nottingham flat but also his mum’s nearby three-bed terraced house, two garages, part of a neighbour’s garden and 24 wheelie bins.
There were thousands of pieces of Beatles memorabilia, signed photos and letters relating to Elvis Presley, John F Kennedy, Winston Churchill and Mahatma Gandhi.
He also had 6,000 vintage comics, 4,000 rare books, 3,000 chemistry sets and 12 classic Rickenbacker guitars. Ramann, who worked in a Cancer Research charity shop in the city, also collected space memorabilia, radio equipment, 1980s ghetto blasters, cinema reels, Airfix models, cameras and lenses, and jewellery.
Neighbours said a Royal Mail van would turn up each week with more parcels.
Relatives said he started hoarding in 2002, meaning to open it all later in life and sell it to fund his retirement. But they had no idea of the size of his collection or how he could afford his eBay habit. Auctioneers called to clear his home could only gain access by removing boxes and bags in front to clear a
HOME Ramann Shukla’s ground-floor flat
path. It took eight men 180 hours over six weeks to cart it away in three vans, then 18 members of staff at Lincoln-based Unique Auctions four weeks to unwrap it all. It will be sold in 3,000 lots tipped to fetch £4million in a four-day sale.
Auctioneer Terry Woodcock said: “Everywhere was full to the ceiling. He didn’t buy rubbish, a lot of it was top quality. We were amazed.”
It includes a rare Hard Day’s Night LP signed by The Beatles, worth up to £4,000, and a Justice League America Number One comic valued at £1,200. A neighbour said “He lived alone and was a typical recluse.”
Everywhere was full to the ceiling, a lot of it was top quality
TERRY WOODCOCK OF UNIQUE AUCTIONS