William Lyttle, 79, London's “Mole Man” spent 40 years digging a maze of tunnels under his £1million home
Hoodoo
By Scott Wood
June 18, 2010 8:30 AM
http://londonist.com/2010/06/rip_mole_man_of_hackney.php
http://londonist.com/attachments/Scott%20Wood/Mole%20Mans%20House.jpg
The Mole Man's House
Londonist wishes to bid farewell to one of London's finest and,
ultimately, not too dangerous eccentrics: William Lyttle, the “Mole
Man”, is dead. Mr. Lyttle achieved fame in 2006 when Hackney council
ordered him to stop his 40 year burrowing under his home on 121 Mortimer
Road, N1. No one knew why or how far Mr. Lyttle was digging but in his
time of hacking at the Hackney borough earth it was estimated that he
managed tunnels “spreading up to 20m in every direction from his house”,
removing, again estimated, 100 cubic meters of earth.
Lyttle never revealed his reasons, cloaking them in humour; one
apocryphal story is that he claimed to be digging to the local bank to
rob it but when he arrived it had become a wine bar. “I just have a big
basement,” he told the Guardian in 2006. “It's gone down deep enough to
hit the water table - that's the lowest you can go." His neighbours felt
differently, especially when one of his tunnels collapsed in 2001,
leaving a wide gash in the pavement. “You could see all the tunnels
sprawling out all over the place inside,” a local said at the time “it
was crazy."
Too crazy for Hackney, Mr. Lyttle was moved into a, presumably not
ground floor level, flat on Lawrence Court in 2009 and handed a bill for
the structural support of his home and the filling in of his tunnels. It
was there his body was found; he is thought to have died from natural
causes. It is reported that while at the flat Mr. Lyttle couldn’t resist
knocking a hole between the kitchen and living room.
Mr. Lyttle is thought to have inspired the character ‘Soap Distant' the
subterranean adventurer of Robert Rankin’s Brentford Trilogy and Iain
Sinclair wrote of him in Hackney, That Rose Red Empire.
Hackney Police are attempting to trace Mr. Lyttle family and anyone with
information should telephone 020 7275 3211.
- - -
Mole Man's death at 79
18/06/2010
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2010/06/18/mole-man-s-death-at-79-115875-22341760/
An eccentric pensioner who gained worldwide fame after tunneling under
his house has died aged 79.
William Lyttle, known as the "Mole Man", spent 40 years digging a maze
of tunnels under the £1million home and nearby property.
When worried council officials forced him to move to a flat in 2007,
amazed contractors discovered the remains of four cars, a boat, scrap
metal and old baths.
Mr Lyttle's old home in Hackney, East London, is now propped up by
scaffolding. He had no known relatives.
--
Trout Mask Replica
KFJC.org, WFMU.org, WMSE.org, or WUSB.org;
because the pigoenholed programming of music channels
on Sirius Satellite, and its internet radio player, suck
rwalker
wrote:
>Lyttle never revealed his reasons,
A man's home is his burrow.
BobF
Previously on alt.obituaries (Fri, 18 Jun 2010 03:05:15 -0500 to be
exact), Hoodoo <ver...@objectmail.com> wrote thusly:
>RIP William Lyttle: The Mole Man
He led a holey life.
*******
>> A Travis teen trying to walk and text-message at the same time fell
>> into an open sewer manhole
"In this instance, esp. for the extreme-feminists, it was obviously
a girlhole.
Maybe she fell on her ass in the girlhole.
or
Maybe the asshole fell in the girlhole 'cause she couldn't text
and walk at the same time.
or
Maybe the girl fell on her ass in the womanhole...
- From "The Sayings of Roy"
Hoodoo
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/england/london/10352222.stm
http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/48114000/jpg/_48114502_hackneyhouse_bbc.jpg
Mr Lyttle's house Mr Lyttle was evicted from his home in 2006 "for his
own safety"
A 79-year-old who tunnelled under his east London home has died leaving
a �408,000 bill for the council.
William Lyttle, nicknamed "mole man", failed to pay Hackney Council
�293,000 for repairs to the house in Mortimer Road, despite a court order.
The council then spent �115,000 on maintenance and putting up him in a
hotel for three years. He died in early June in a flat where he was
rehoused.
Hackney Council said it was trying to recover taxpayers' money.
A spokesman for the council said: "We are sorry to hear of Mr Lyttle's
death.
"The council will continue the legal process to recover taxpayer's money
spent in relation to this matter."
Tons of debris
Mr Lyttle was evicted from his 20-room detached house in 2006 for his
own safety after the council discovered the labyrinth of tunnels he had
dug over a 40-year period.
In 2008 the High Court ordered him to pay the �293,000 repair bill and
banned him from going near the property.
http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/48113000/jpg/_48113479__44571109_molemanhouse_226i-1.jpg
Mr Lyttle's house The 20-room house could be worth �1m after renovation
Following his eviction the council put up scaffolding and filled the
cavity with foam concrete to prevent the house from collapsing. Further
maintenance has cost the council �70,000 since 2008.
Following his eviction the pensioner was put up in a hotel for three
years while the council found accommodation for him. The hotel stay cost
the council �45,000.
After being rehoused in a flat in St Lawrence Court in de Beauvoir
Estate in June 2009, Mr Lyttle continued his activities and it is
believed he left a hole in a wall within the flat.
Police found his body in the flat on 7 June.
The council estimates the Mortimer Road property, which the pensioner
inherited from his parents, could be worth up to �1m after renovation.
Once the court grants the council an order to sell the house the unpaid
�293,000 could be recovered and the rest will go to any next of kin.
The council is also seeking legal options to recover the additional
�115,000.
At least 33 tons of debris, including three cars and a boat, were
removed from the property and garden areas.
Rob Cibik
> >RIP William Lyttle: The Mole Man
Hoodoo
(Central Daylight Time), spoke thusly:
>>> RIP William Lyttle: The Mole Man
>> A man's home is his burrow. He led a holey life.
> he suffered from tunnel vision.
With all the press coverage he's gotten over the past several days, it
seems lots of folks worldwide really dig him.