'Aladdin's Cave of treasure' found among six decades of rubbish in dead couple's house

Nearly £200, 000 in cash, stocks and bonds alone was discovered in the dilapidated Edwardian semi that was home to deceased John and Pamela Baker.

Piles of limited-edition Wedgwood plates, each with a certificate of authenticity, were found under the rotting floorboards of the three-bed house.

Treasure trove: Thousands of pounds were found alongside antiques and rubbish

A cache of rare coins, three Victorian paintings and around 1000 books - some still in their wrappers - were also uncovered by workmen wearing masks as they cleared tons of rubbish and hacked a way through a back garden which has become a jungle of brambles, foxes and vermin.

In the last few years, window sash-cords had broken and upstairs rooms had become home to pigeons, some of which had died in the back bedroom.

There was a half-hearted attempt 18 months ago to establish squatters’ rights - but the house in in New Malden, Surrey, was too run-down, even for them.

Mr Baker is believed to have worked for the National Physical Laboratory at Teddington, Middlesex, until 1975 and later as a college lecturer.

He died about eight years ago and for a long time his widow - who gained a university degree in botany as a young woman - refused to leave the house, despite offers of council care.

She remained sitting in an armchair by a partially open window, a forlorn figure in the curtainless front room, surrounded by clutter until well after her 80th birthday, when she was eventually taken into hospital a couple of years ago.

She died earlier this year.

Neighbour John Harrison, 56, said yesterday: ‘They made a strange couple and never had any visitors, except from the Church and, after Mr Baker died, from social services.

'The place has long been a complete wreck. They had nothing done to the house for 50 years.

'Electric cables dangled inside, there were no carpets or curtains and undergrowth and brambles grew to 12 feet in the garden.

‘Truck load after truck load of rubbish has been carted away.

'They cannot have thrown out a single piece of paper, wrapper, newspaper, cardboard box - or anything else for that matter - for 60 years.

‘Mr Baker used to be seen shopping locally but his wife did not venture out for many years.

'A few years ago she could be seen out in the garden in the middle of the night with a torch, on her hands and knees tending to a small patch of earth that was not overgrown.

‘From the look of the place you would never imagine it could contain an Aladdin’s Cave of treasures.’

Dilapidated: John and Pamela Baker were rarely seen outside their home

Bob James, 32, one of a man-man team that spent nearly four days clearing the house, said: ‘The managing agents found £200, 000 in money and bonds before we got here.

‘I’ve never seen anything like it. The house was crammed full of rubbish. Even old bits of food were still there. But amongst some real valuables.

'I found stacks of Wedgwood plates under the floorboards and there were coins collections, about 1000 books and three old paintings.’

And fellow-worker Darren Piper, 29, said: ‘It was exhausting work. Loose cables were dangling and the electricity was still live when we arrived and it was like a pigeon coop upstairs, with mess everywhere.

'Joists are rotten but some original fixtures survive. There were boxes of stuff that hadn’t even been opened.’

Another neighbour, who declined to be named but has lived in the street for more than half a century, said: ‘They just let the place go to rack and ruin over the years. It’s very sad.’

The couple are believed to have inherited a considerable amount of money and heirlooms from Mrs Baker’s side of the family.

They had no children but distant relatives have been traced and the house is believed to be in the process of being sold. It will need to be gutted and completely restored.

Kingston Council had taken out a charge on the house, boarding up the windows, cutting back the garden two years ago and paying for repairs to the house next door caused by leaks from the the Bakers’ house.