Sheffield woman began hoarding junk after daughter died

5 January 2010

A SHEFFIELD woman began hoarding junk after her daughter died at a young age.

Jennifer Grounsell has rubbished the claim by her neighbours that the rubbish in her back yard is both a health and fire risk, as well as an eyesore. She said: "I've never hurt anyone – just myself."

She does admit, however, that she has “a problem”. She said she had started collecting junk after her daughter died.

Her small back yard at Colver Road, Highfield, Sheffield is stuffed with up to 30 sacks full of plastic containers and tin cans. There is also a collection of prams, footballs, shoes, garden hoses, a zimmer frame, seven council wheelie bins, five recycling boxes and three shopping trolleys. All the bins, boxes and trolleys are stuffed with rubbish.

She told south Yorkshire newspaper The Star she felt "humiliated" by the mountain of rubbish and said she was getting help, adding: "I know I have a problem but I'm dealing with it with all the right people. I'm getting the proper help from people who understand me."

Her difficulties had begun after her daughter’s death, she added. "People don't understand, people don't care. Have you ever lost your daughter? Have you ever had nobody?"

The junk spreads into an alleyway she shares with neighbour Jack Flint (81), a retired engineer.

Mr Flint said his appeals to Sheffield Council for the rubbish to be cleared had been ignored. He had spent more than £500 on a fence to prevent waste spilling into his property, he added.

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