Nest egg: Collector forced to flee his home after hoarding mountains of bird chintz worth an incredible £40,000

  • Has spent 25 years collecting 15,000 bird ornaments and 4,800 thimbles

By
Rachel Rickard Straus

05:39 EST, 5 April 2012

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06:34 EST, 5 April 2012

A warehouse worker has been forced to flee his nest after collecting an incredible 20,000 bird ornaments which have taken over his entire home.  

Lawrence Cobbold, 38, now visits his parents for meals and to wash his clothes because he has run out of room at his own place.

He has spent 25 years collecting ornaments, paperweights, pictures and thimbles and estimates his unusual treasures could be worth up to £40,000.

Obsessive collector: Lawrence Cobbold has covered every inch of his home with bird-related objects

Obsessive collector: Lawrence Cobbold has covered every inch of his home with bird-related objects

Mr Cobbold, who lives alone in Plympton, Devon, admits ‘It’s turned into an obsession’.

He has 15,000 ornaments, 4,800 thimbles, 1,000 fridge magnets, 300 plates, 300 pictures, 150 mugs and 100 jigsaws – all connected in some way with birds.

The collection has taken over every room in his three-bedroom house, the loft, shed and every cupboard.

Mr Cobbold can spend up to £500 on ornaments at charity shops or car boot sales at any one time.

The Co-Op warehouse worker spends two hours before work and two hours in the evenings cleaning, tidying and rearranging them.

Rows of owls and eagles: 15,000 bird ornaments cover the walls of Mr Cobbold's home, leaving little space for their owner to live in

Rows of owls and eagles: 15,000 bird ornaments cover the walls of Mr Cobbold’s home, leaving little space for their owner to live in

He said: ‘What I pay for them and what they’re worth to me are two different things. I just want to show where my money goes and I like looking at them.’

Mr Cobbold’s father, Tony, who used to keep 300 real life birds, said: ‘His house is like one big car boot sale except no one is buying or selling. It’s harmless, it’s not like he does drugs.

‘My other son is completely normal – he won’t have any ornaments at all in his house.’

Home tweet home: Mr Cobbold spends hours every week tending to his bird-related collection

Home tweet home: Mr Cobbold spends hours every week tending to his bird-related collection

Mr Cobbold used to sleep at his parents’ home as well and keep his house solely to display the ornaments.

He has only just recently managed to fit a bed into one of the rooms.

‘It is ridiculous,’ said his father. ‘I just hope I die before him, I don’t want to clear all this out. But it’s lovely, a great hobby.’

Here’s what other readers have said. Why not add your thoughts,
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The comments below have been moderated in advance.

He needs to get himself a bird!

Don’t worry. Now you’ve advertised it, he will no doubt get burgled and get them broken or stolen. Just like putting photos of lottery winners homes in the paper or online. In this country it does not pay to show what you’ve got. There’s always someone out there to spoil it or steal it.

I must say he has incredable good taste in his ornaments. I wish I could have some of the beautiful bird ones,they are gorgeous!

“He has 15,000 ornaments, 4,800 thimbles, 1,000 fridge magnets, 300 plates, 300 pictures, 150 mugs and 100 jigsaws…”
That’s just over 20,000 pieces of absolute junk, isn’t it?
It doesn’t mean they’re worth £40,000 as though it were some valuable collection. It merely means that each piece of cheap tat is worth an average of £2. And at 38 years old he goes to mum ‘n’ dad for dinner and laundry. That’s all you need to know.

How strange that he lives alone.

Someone needs to get some!!!!!

Mr Cobbold, who lives alone in Plympton, Devon …. I think I can understand why!

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