The tale of Freda Jones is a salutary one. Miss Jones was a collector of anything and nothing, who clearly found it difficult to throw away anything. She died last year, having filled nearly three houses in York with jumble.

Many of us are poised to conduct a New Year clear-out at home. Hours are spent agonising over what to keep and what to discard.

The moral of Miss Jones's story is: be brutal. Throw out all those unwanted items. Otherwise you too might feel compelled to move house just to escape the clutter.

see NEWS 'Hoarder leaves 40 tonnes of jumble in three homes'

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.