AN ELDERLY COUPLE is pleading for assistance in completing their home after a Ministry of Health crew conducted a massive clean-up operation there yesterday.
Elridge and Vexilla Bellamy, both 78, watched as truckloads of garbage were taken away from the Lower Deacons Road, St Michael property by a crew from the Sanitation Service Authority.
The garbage consisted of several pieces of old galvanised sheets, old metal, pieces of wood, hundreds of bags of sand, old bottles and other miscellaneous refuse which had been piled up for years.
As the rubbish was removed and the galvanised hoarding was pulled from around the house, its unfinished state was revealed.
It appeared that some of the garbage was actually keeping the house intact.
Elridge, who pointed out that he and his wife lived there for 37 years, explained that some years back officials from the Urban Development Commission had visited their home, taken measurements and said they would return, but never did.
“If they say they are coming back, then we would be waiting for them to come back,” Vexilla chimed in.
They said they wanted help to complete the job.
However, neighbours said they had been complaining for years about the state of the couple’s home and the danger it posed to the community, pointing out that officials only stepped in because there was a fire at the house last week which destroyed the back section; while a guard wall at the side of the house collapsed under the weight of the garbage.
They also expressed fears that the garbage would soon pile up again as they pointed out that Elridge usually collected the stuff.
A resident who owns the property next door, which has a For Sale sign, said no one wanted to buy it because of the state of the Bellamy’s home.
Three environmental health officers were directing the operation, which is likely to include the interior of the home.
A workman from the SSA said seven years ago they attempted to execute a clean-up of the same house but had met with resistance. He said yesterday’s operation was expected to last a few days because of the huge amount of garbage that had to be carried to the dump.