Obsessive hoarder James Pettit's neighbours called the police after they were concerned about the 63-year-old man's wellbeing. Police found the man's body surrounded by so much trash that they could not reach him. Specialist cleaners had to be brought in so that the police could safely remove the body from the rotting rubbish-filled home.

On January 14 at around 4 pm, the West Midland Police officers arrived to check on Pettit at his home in Erdington, Birmingham. The police had to break the door to enter the home. After making their way up the narrow, littered stairway they found rooms filled with trash. In the upstairs maisonette, the police discovered rotting trash surrounding the dead body of Pettit.

Police were unable to safely remove Pettit's corpse from the room due to the piles of decaying trash. A team of specialist cleaners was called in to clear a path for the police. After clearing the home for around five hours, the police were finally able to recover the body and send it for post mortem examination on January 15.

Headless hoarder Ohio
Hoarder’s entombed body removed after cleaners cleared trash-filled home for five-hours NBC / WCMH - NBC4i.com

The Daily Mail reported that three flat-bed truckloads of clutter had to be removed from the home just to reach the body. Environmental health officers summoned four flat-bed trucks to clear out all the clutter from the home.

Neighbours claim that the recluse had been living there for around 40 years. It is unknown how long the man had been living alone. According to the neighbours, the former National Grid worker had a terrible accident two years ago. Pettit, while walking down the stairs, tripped on the clutter and crashed through the glass door.

Some neighbours recalled entering the home a long time ago to find it alarmingly cluttered. Even though Pettit lived in a house akin to a landfill, he was always well turned out in public. Two weeks before his body was found, neighbours had seen him getting into a Bentley. Pettit was often seen bringing his clothes from the dry cleaning and was always well dressed when he went out.

Police are not treating the death as suspicious. Post mortem reports are being awaited for the cause and the time of death.