SCOTLAND is to host the first event in the UK aimed at helping compulsive hoarders.

Experts say the disorder which sees people store vast amounts of items in their homes is a growing issue in Scotland, with an estimated 200,000 people affected.

As well as affecting a person’s health and wellbeing, the issue can become a public health problem and serious fire risk and is thought to take root in childhood.

The conference, to be held in October in Edinburgh, comes in the same year that hoarding disorder will become a newly-classified mental health condition.

Linda Fay, founder of Life-Pod CIC, a social enterprise which helps affected people, said: “Until recently, health and social care teams were most likely to enforce ‘clear outs’ of people’s homes.

“It is critical that those suffering with hoarding disorder are helped by trained professionals who understand the complexities of the condition.”

The international conference will involve a number of organisations, including the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and Perth and Kinross Council, adopting new approaches to helping hoarders.