A CRIME scene cleaner who has worked on gruesome murders, harrowing suicides and extreme rodent infestations has revealed the situations she finds the most difficult.
Vicki Gordon, a 44-year-old specialist cleaner from Lincolnshire, has been cleaning up extreme biohazards and crime scenes for nearly 10 years, but says working on hoarder homes is the worst.
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As Britain’s most extreme cleaner, Vicki attends the bloodied aftermath of gun shot suicides, body decomposition, and crime scenes left behind after cops leave.
But despite working on these queasy scenes, extreme hoarding situations affects her the most where people are effectively “buried alive”.
Vicki said: “Although the crime, trauma and unattended death scenes are quite hard to see, what stays with me is the hoarders.
“Sometimes we will go do an assessment and we will be told it’s a dire situation where someone is clearly living in horrendous conditions.
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“You wonder half the time how they aren’t extremely poorly, or often they have some mental health issue or physical disability, or they are elderly.
“But then we won’t be able to come back – because there is no funding available or they can’t afford it – and you wonder what happened to them and whether they will be OK.
“People become estranged and are sometimes living on their own – so when there is an unattended death in a hoarders’ home, it’s really sad because sometimes they have been there for so long without being found.
“It’s such a sad existence and a sad end. But you have to continue and continue to try and help others.”
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As the founder of Pocket Rockets cleaning services business, Vicki has been using her online platform to raise awareness of their unique services and also change people’s perceptions of hoarding and encourage people to ask for help.
Since starting her business nearly nine years ago, Vicki has undergone specialist training in crime scene and trauma cleaning as well as mental health courses – to help her understand the conditions a lot of people who require her services are going through.
Vicki, who began her work as a domestic cleaner, said her first extreme cleaning job was a hoarding case and it opened her eyes to the reality many people across the country are facing – particularly after Covid-19 forced people inside their homes.
Vicki said: “I remember my first specialist job was a hoarded property – and my eyes were on stalks. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.
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“People in Covid found themselves more isolated – so you found anyone who had been previously suffering was exacerbated.
“Many people who are living in these homes don’t see how dangerous their living space has become and it is very traumatic for them.
“That is why I put myself through some mental health courses, to give myself as much knowledge as possible.”
After sharing her work on TikTok back in 2022, Vicki said she was surprised to see how popular her videos were and how much people loved watching the before and after photos of her work.
Vicki said: “A significant amount of the work we do is far too sensitive and inappropriate for photos to be shared – but so many people don’t know about our services, so I still try to raise awareness however I can.
“I never thought I would have a following but fundamentally, I think that it all boils down to people love being nosy!
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“If someone is living in a bit more of an extreme way, they find it fascinating and if the video is shocking – it gathers more views.
“People can be judgemental, and I wish this wasn’t the case but they love the drama, so I try to monitor comments when I can.
“I think it also makes people feel better about their own environments and it can give someone a bit of validation because it makes them think, ‘oh, at least I’m not that bad’.”
The passionate cleaner explained that her favourite things about the job are not only helping the people who require her services, but also the exciting “treasure” she discovers during the clean-up operation.
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Vicki recently hit the headlines when she found an unopened Mars Bar from 1991 which was as big as her hand.
She said: “I love opening draws and boxes in hoarded houses that haven’t been opened in decades.
“It’s like a time capsule and all about the treasure you find is so interesting.
“Last year, I did this kitchen under the sink and there was so many cleaning products from the 1960s and 70s – but they were so nostalgic.
“I’ve found old toys, newspapers and magazines going back decades – once I found a holiday brochure from 1983 and the holidays were so cheap back then!”
The mum-of-three explained how varied her work is, with one day seeing her attending an estate agents office to clear up one foot of raw sewage leak, while another has her at the site of a drug overdose doing a needle sweep.
Vicki said: “Unfortunately there are a lot of traumatic scenes we cover – and often the aftermath is very sad.
“Some methods are astonishingly violent – such as a shot gun suicide which create a big clean up.
“Aneurysms are really common and sometimes people bleed out all over the house or injure themselves trying to get help.
“Or you get someone who has self-harmed and regret it, so they are disorientated, bang their head and are wobbling around.”
Despite all the horror she’s seen, Vicki is proud of work and admits she loves her job.
She said: “The work is so varied, sometimes you think you’ve seen it all but you never have! There will always be the next job that you don’t expect.
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“Everyday you are doing something completely different and you help people – which is why I love it.
“I would die of boredom if I worked a job where you did the same thing everyday!”