Cleveland Fire Brigade issues warning to hoarders

Firefighters visit more than 100 homes a year offering advice on how to make cluttered properties safer

A fire service is warning hoarders that their piled-up possessions are putting their lives at risk.

Cleveland Fire Brigade says its officers visit more 100 homes a year to warn householders that rooms crammed with flammable materials make rescue in a fire more difficult.

The service said a crammed room could be well alight within 90 seconds.

It is appealing to the friends and families of hoarders to get in touch to arrange home safety visits.

A cluttered room can be well alight within 90 seconds, firefighters say

Fire service spokesman Sean Smith said: "Our firefighters are already faced with heat and smoke and zero visibility, but then they have to navigate in that heat and smoke to potentially find someone trapped in a fire.

"Obviously the more clutter and hoarding within that property, the more difficult it is for them to establish what they are looking for.

"It can slow down the process of trying to rescue someone in a fire."

According to the NHS, hoarding disorder is a mental health condition characterised by the acquisition of an excessive number of items that are stored in a chaotic manner.

'Can't wash or cook'

Sarah, not her real name, suffers from depression and is a hoarder.

She said: "I can buy food items or toiletries and be quite jolly about having bought them but then not have the energy to use them or put them away.

"That happens again and again and suddenly there's all these carrier bags around."

Sarah, who has depression, said buying items made her feel "jolly" but then she is too tired to put them away

Dr Nicholas Hudson, a clinical psychologist based at Newcastle's Royal Victoria Infirmary, said hoarding stopped people from functioning properly.

He said: "Hoarders can't use rooms and homes for the intended purposes.

"Often they can't use their bathrooms to wash. They can't use their kitchen to cook and they can't use their beds to sleep in."

Hoarding is recognised as a mental health disorder that stops people functioning properly