[千奇百怪] 五年沒修剪長春籐將房子"吞噬"

Is that what you call a greenhouse? Ivy-covered house blights the neighbourhood after out-of-control plant is left uncut for five years

Out-of-control plant has consumed almost the entire house in Cradley Heath, West Midlands
Neighbours say they were fed up by living next door to the ivy-consumed property
But, thankfully for them, workmen have now stepped in to tackle the mammoth plant
Ivy has taken a whole week to remove

By Tom Goodenough

Many neighbours have to put up with the nuisance of living next door to an overgrown plant.

But for residents of one West Midlands street, the eyesore in their neighbourhood appears to have swallowed up an entire house.

The ivy-consumed home has been a blot on the landscape for the last five years.

The wild plant has completely swallowed up the house in Cradley Heath in the West Midlands

And the out-of-control plant has invaded every wall of the three-bedroom detached property in Cradley Heath.

As well as covering the house, the wild plant has also crept across the roof and forced its way through window frames, under roof tiles and caused damage to brickwork.

Residents in the West Midlands street have had to put up with the blot on the landscape for five years

The out-of-control plant has forced its way through window frames, under roof tiles and also damaged brickwork

Locals say the ivy quickly grew out of control when the property's former owner, believed to have been an elderly woman, moved out.

But now it looks as though neighbours will not have to contend with the wild plant any longer after a new owner called in the experts to hack away the greenery.

Mother-of-one Brigid Duffy, who has lived opposite the property for 15 years, said the old owner of the house had battled with the ivy for a number of years.

Workmen say they were constantly distracted from their work by grateful neighbours bringing them supplies of cups of tea as they tackled the wild plant

Locals say the ivy started its quest for dominance when the property's former owner moved out

'But when she left it got out of control because nobody was trimming it back,' said solicitor Mrs Duffy.
'Then it just grew and grew and grew.

'It got to the point where you couldn’t actually see the house anymore.

'Every time we had visitors they would say: ‘My God - what is that across the road?’

'The workmen cutting it down are my heroes.'

Neighbours say they are delighted after the new owner of the property called in the experts

Having previously been covered in ivy, the upstairs windows and roof of the property can now be made out

Despite succeeding in removing the ivy from the detached house, it is unclear to what extent the plant has damaged brickwork

And the next-door neighbour of the property, retired civil servant Helen Key, 55, said she was also delighted to see the workmen show up.

'If you looked into the street from a distance it looked like there was a house then a big tree and then my house,' she said.

David Sidwell, who works for the company tasked with tackling the ivy, said the job will take two people up to a week.

'It’s massive - a real major job,' said Mr Sidwell.

'We’ve got to take all the ivy off and then clean up the brickwork. It had even got through window frames and under roof tiles - and that’s when these jobs can get really serious.

'But we’ve been struggling to get on with it because all the neighbours keep coming up, saying they’re delighted it’s being done and making us cups of tea.'

Average property prices in the West Midlands street, which have seen their value fall by ten percent in the past five years, are around £150,000.

The ivy-clad house is not the first property to have annoyed neighbours forced to live alongside an eyesore.
Angry neighbours in a smart residential street in Plymouth have called for a derelict house to be knocked down after it was left to rot for 30 years.

The so-called 'Hairy House' in Plymouth has been a constant blot on the landscape for neighbours for years

The£100,000 bungalow has become so overgrown with trees and weeds, it's barely visible from the street and the roof looks like it has sprouted hairs.

Incredibly, the house was lived-in until 18 months ago when the owner moved out - after neglecting the property for three decades.

One neighbour said: 'It was a beautiful house in the early 80s, a piece of magnificence and immaculate.

'But since 1982 - to the best of my knowledge - nothing has been done and the property has gradually deteriorated.

Neighbours have become so fed up with the situation they have called on their local MP to intervene

Residents are so upset, they've called on their local MP to help.

Describing the house as 'ghastly', Alison Seabeck, Labour MP for Plymouth Moor View used the case of the 'hairy house' to support a government-planned crackdown on derelict homes.

She said: 'Concerns have been raised to me about this property. It is an extreme example of the problem we are talking about.'
Plymouth council, meanwhile, insists it has made contact with the owner, and demanded they take action to clean up the property.

A spokesperson said: 'This is a complex case. We have been in touch with the owner and action has been taken in the past to clear up the property.'

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