Shocking pictures show inside the home of "Britain's biggest hoarder" where mummified rats were found.
The house, belonging to 72-year-old Paul, had to be cleaned by specialists after piles of rubbish and mountains of collections reached the ceiling.
His bathroom and kitchen had been completely unusable for years but Paul said he got around this by eating outside, going to cafes and going elsewhere to have a shower.
Paul and his mother bought the three bedroom house in Crosby, Merseyside, 35 years ago, after his father died, for £23,000.
On Channel 5 documentary Hoarders, which airs on Thursday night, he said: "We had a nice modern kitchen, nice garden as well, it was a very attractive house."
But hoarding is often triggered by traumatic life events and the problems in Paul's home began after the said death of his mum, Liverpool Echo reports.
He said: "Four and a half years after my mother died, in 1995, that's when I started collecting.
"I think in the back of my mind, I thought 'that will look nice in the house' a bit like what my mother had.
"And then it began to overwhelm me over time and got too much.
"The books are the first thing that started to pile up and I've got a couple thousands books now."
During the programme, George Mensah of Merseyside House Clearance was called in to clear Paul's home.
Unable to even enter the property, George was forced to climb over the mounds of belongings that Paul had accumulated and even used a special camera to be able to see further into the home.
During his survey, the master cleaner found rats that had become trapped in the house and then died, being left to rot and stiffen amongst the rubbish.
Some of the most commonly hoarded items, such as papers, books and clothing, were all found in the rooms of the house as George made his way through.
This had filled up every room in Paul's house, including the hallway, but some other items that Paul had collected were slightly more unusual.
Roman artefacts, weapons and armour were also discovered during the clear out.
One bedroom was the only area of the house that George could properly access.
Paul hoped that cleaners could shift his hoard for him and he would be able to sell the home, which lies on a quiet street in Sefton, to fund his retirement.
During the clean up process, Paul found it difficult to let some of his items go and could be heard telling George's colleagues not to throw books away and saying he wanted to keep a part of the Roman wall in York.
After some of the hoard was cleared, Paul was informed that due to the damage he had caused to his home by the hoarding, it would only be worth £110,000 on the market.
It took eight skips and nine days in total to clear Paul's house before potential buyers were able to come and view the property.
Hoarding disorder is the mental health problem that has led people to leave their homes in filthy conditions, piled high with rubbish and has even led to a number of court cases over the years.
The Royal College of Psychiatrists and the NHS have significant information about hoarding disorder and what it can mean for people day-to-day but also explains that hoarding can lead to significant problems, such as those above.
Here are some of the most common questions about hoarding disorder, what it means, and how to stop it getting out of control.
What is hoarding disorder?
Hoarding disorder is where someone acquires an excessive number of items and stores them in a chaotic manner.
This usually results in unmanageable amounts of clutter and in some cases hoarding in your home.
Most common items that people hoard
Some people with a hoarding disorder will hoard a range of items, while others may just hoard certain types of objects.
Items that are often hoarded include newspapers and magazines, books, clothes, receipts and household supplies.
Some people also hoard animals, which they may not be able to look after properly.
More recently, hoarding of data has become more common.
This is where someone stores huge amounts of electronic data and emails that they're extremely reluctant to delete.
Why do people hoard?
The reasons why someone begins hoarding are not fully understood but it can often be a symptom of another condition.
Mental health problems associated with hoarding include severe depression, psychotic disorders and obsessive compulsive disorder.
In some cases, hoarding is a condition in itself and often associated with self-neglect. These people are more likely to live alone, be unmarried, have had a deprived childhood or have a family history of hoarding.
How can hoarders be treated?
Hoarding disorders are challenging to treat because many people who hoard frequently do not see it as a problem, or have little awareness of how it's affecting their life or the lives of others.
Many do realise they have a problem but are reluctant to seek help because they feel extremely ashamed, humiliated or guilty about it.
It's really important to encourage a person who is hoarding to seek help, as their difficulties discarding objects can not only cause loneliness and mental health problems but also pose a health and safety risk.
If not tackled, it's a problem that will probably never go away.
The main treatment is cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT).
The therapist will help the person to understand what makes it difficult to throw things away and the reasons why the clutter has built up.
This will be combined with practical tasks and a plan to work on. It's important the person takes responsibility for clearing the clutter from their home. The therapist will support and encourage this.
Antidepressant medicines called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) have also been shown to help some people with hoarding disorders.
