COUNCIL workers filled a dozen skips with rubbish after being called out to a retired schoolteacher's home.

Pam Pearson, 62, had piles of rubbish reaching up to the ceiling in a number of rooms.

She says she is a harmless hoarder but neighbours were unhappy about the conditions she lives in, saying her home was infestated by rats.

There were scores of complaints about Miss Pearson's home in Stanley, where she has lived for seven years. So council workers armed with protective gloves began tackling the mountain of rubbish.

They filled 12 skips at the weekend and the clean-up is expected to continue into this week.

Council managers issued a warrant to clear out and fumigate the house before the health hazard got worse.

Miss Pearson said: "It is so unfair that they are taking away all my things. They will leave me with nothing.

"I buy things from jumble sales and collect things. It's not doing anyone any harm.

"I own this house, so why can't they leave me alone?"

Executive director of the council Mike Clark said: "We have received lots of complaints from neighbours and a number of people in the community about her activities.

"She has been removing rubbish from people's bins and gardens causing a dreadful nuisance but also a health risk."