Hoarder faces eviction from third flat because ... - PHOTO

Somewhere in this picture is Vivienne Davis, camouflaged against the mountains of belongings she has hoarded at home.The artist and percussionist has so many possessions that she has been unable to get into her bedroom since moving in five years ago and sleeps in a chair instead.The 64-year-old blames her mass of belongings on a love of second-hand clothes – but her landlord thinks her huge collection is a fire risk and she faces eviction today from her one-bedroom flat in Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex.Her effects, which also include books, ornaments, TVs, clocks and bric-a-brac, are piled high in the lounge, kitchen and even the toilet. The collection has grown so big because she enjoys supporting charity shops and cannot bring herself to consign anything to the dustbin.‘I really like clothes and will only throw them out if they don’t fit,’ she said last night. ‘I think it is liveable and would like to just stay.But the landlord says it is a fire risk, so it has to go. How can they throw me out with nowhere else before Christmas?‘I have cleared some stuff – there were lots of stuffed toys before.’Miss Davis’s bedroom is so packed with possessions that instead of a doorway there is a wall of belongings. The carpet is entirely covered with clothes, bags, paintings and old toys that go three quarters of the way to the ceiling.A friend also rents a garage where she stores more of her belongings.Miss Davis, who is on benefits and has been evicted from two other properties for her compulsive hoarding, says she is too ill to clear out her stuff. She had her larynx removed as she fought throat cancer 12 years ago and now uses an artificial speech aid to talk.But Kevin Cruiks, of letting agent Ayers & Cruiks, said she has failed to bin enough of the clutter despite offers of help from social services. ‘We have no wish to evict any tenant, but we have to take action,’ he added. ‘The courts have already deferred the eviction date to give her time to make alternative arrangements, which, to our knowledge, she hasn’t done.’Miss Davis, who expects a visit from the bailiffs today, was  yesterday appealing for a reprieve  at Southend County Court.(dailymail.co.uk)ANN.Az