Are you a compulsive hoarder?

Most of us at some time have lived in a house or room with clutter. But for some people an inability to throw away items or belongings can develop into a more debilitating psychological condition known as compulsive hoarding.

What is not so well known is that hoarding can can also pose serious health and safety risks.

Hoarding goes beyond being untidy, some people live in very messy houses as a result of a compulsive hoarding condition.

It means they are unable to discard items, rubbish or belongings from their home.

Hoarding is not just a mental disorder. It can also pose a health and safety risk. Today Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service re-created a mock hoarders living room in Derby's Eagle Shopping Centre to highlight the dangers of excessive clutter.

In some cases people who hoard can go to extreme lengths. Environmental health officers from Derby City Council say many of the properties affected are often infested with mice and rats and littered with droppings. In some cases the mounds of clutter are so deep it is difficult to move around the property.

Tragically some people have died as a result of the psychological condition. In 2011 Linda Parkes died in a fire at her home in Long Eaton: as firefighters tried to put it out, they had to deal with huge mounds of rubbish in every room.

Derbyshire Fire Officers said today's event was not about telling people how to live their lives. Instead they are encouraging anyone who thinks they, a friend or relative may have a problem with hoarding to ask for help, before their problem spirals out of control.