One in 200 people in the UK is a hoarder: someone who can’t stop collecting things but can’t bear to throw anything away. Compulsive hoarding is a recognised manifestation of OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder).

Many compulsive hoarders live claustrophobic, lonely existences, often in a vicious circle of deprived circumstances with their accumulated piles of rubbish preventing them from even eating, sleeping and keeping themselves clean. This one-off film follows four compulsive hoarders as each confronts their compulsion at a crucial moment in their life.

Channel 4, Wednesday 2 May 2007