Pensioner loses mobility scooter and family heirlooms after fly-tipped garage is finally cleared

A pensioner whose garage was filled with three tonnes of fly-tipped rubbish has been left devastated after waiting more than a year for it to be cleared – only to discover all his personal belongings have been thrown away too.

Martyn de Young, 68, was horrified when he opened the garage at his home in Larkfield, Kent, in August last year and found it packed with builders' rubble, old furniture and discarded household waste.

The retired IT consultant had gone to retrieve his mobility scooter, which he needed because of arthritis in his hip while awaiting a replacement operation.

Instead, he found his scooter buried beneath an estimated three tonnes of rubbish.

But after months of trying to get the mess cleared by Clarion Housing, which rents him the garage, Martyn now fears he has lost everything he had stored inside.

Among the missing items are his mobility scooter, a scale model railway layout, old computers and family heirlooms.

He had repeatedly made clear that he wanted to be present when contractors removed the rubbish so he could rescue his possessions.

Martyn said: “There was quite a lot in there that I would have liked to have kept but it seems to be all gone now. I have lost everything.

“I can’t do anything about it, they can’t be replaced. I am at a loss for words really.

“None of it was really of value, but obviously it was important to me.”

The ordeal began when he first opened the garage door and was confronted by the mountain of waste.

“I opened the door and it was just filled with rubbish. I couldn’t believe it was my garage, I thought I had opened the wrong one,” he said.

“I was just completely dumbfounded.

“I was looking for my mobility scooter and it was buried under three tonnes of rubbish. It was quite disturbing at the time.”

Several other garages in the area were also allegedly broken into and targeted by fly-tippers.

Initially, contractors managed to remove around a tonne of waste, with a second visit planned to clear the remaining two tonnes.

However, damage to the garage door and lock meant the team could not gain access when they returned, forcing them to abandon the job and rearrange.

Martyn claims communication then stalled for several months despite repeated requests for updates.

In March, he discovered the garage had been boarded up without warning to prevent further dumping.

Despite being unable to use the space, he continued paying around £19 a week in rent.

After more than a year, he wrote to Clarion demanding action and a refund.

Last Friday, he was finally told the garage had been checked and was empty. However, the housing association could not explain when or how the waste had been removed.

Martyn was left with the devastating news that his belongings had apparently been disposed of along with the rubbish.

He said: “They said they are going to refund my rent from the last 14 months, but that doesn’t help with the losses I have sustained from things being taken.

“It is annoying to say the least.”

The garage remains boarded up while arrangements are made to install a replacement door and lock.

Martyn said he was still waiting to find out what would happen next, adding that he had yet to regain somewhere to store his car or possessions.

Clarion Housing has been contacted for comment.