NEVER SLEPT IN A BED

Waikato Times, Volume 118, Issue 19664, 26 August 1935, Page 9

NEVER SLEPT IN A BED

SIXTY YEARS IN ONE HOUSE. The strange life of a Gfi-ycar-oid rooluso who nover slept in a bed and continued lo live in a house when the ceilings of the rooms had lallen in was described at an inquest at Deptford, London, recently. lie was William Frederick WeidholT Fleming, and lie had been lying dead in his house for eight or ten days before Ihe body was found. He bad lived there from the time Hie bouse was built, GO years ago.

Mr Thomas Mason, a Deptford sanitary inspector, said a sanitary order was made by the council against Fleming, and they removed more than six tons of rubbish from the rooms.

"Wo found a tremendous lot of clothing which was simply dust.,” lie sail!. "There are thousands and thousands, of books, but J found only a few coppers.

‘•Ilf lived entirely by himselt, and lie told us that he had been collecting this rubbish for .15 to 20 years, "He had no means of cooking ami 111 ere was no bud. He slept on a chair, 'flic bed lie died in was one we discovered and made up for him l! was Hie tlrst time lie had slept in a bed."

Mr Hilaries Fleming, of Ashford, Kent, said his brother was a retire.l engineer’s draughtsman. He had tried In persuade him to leave Brockiey, but he was 100 sentimental lo go. A verdict of death from natural causes was returned.