Every room in the three-storey terraced house was filled from floor to ceiling with an assortment of bric-a-brac and rubbish.
The junk was even stacked in the hall close to the front door, making it almost impossible to get inside and both front and back gardens were a mess.
After years of complaints from neighbours in Grimsby, council officials finally moved in to tackle the job of emptying the building.
Incredibly they removed more than 100 tonnes of material, filling skip after skip after skip.
The extraordinary amount and array of bric-a-brac was collected over decades by the eccentric 73-year-old owner.
Old rifles, ammunition and swords were found inside, along with thousands of everyday items you would find at a car boot sale, such as dolls, electrical equipment, toys, pictures, books and ornaments.
When asked about the clear-up Mr Jones said:'It's not pleasant living here. I wanted to clear it myself. I was trying to get it done.'
The pensioner was put up in a hotel while his house was emptied and the North East Lincolnshire Council intends to reclaim the cost of the operation from him.
Local residents regarded the property as a blight on their neighbourhood.
Alyson Thomson, 58, a sales manager who lives next door, said:'It is hard to imagine how he did it, but I believe he was living in the house because I would hear his front door open and he would go inside and not come out until the next morning.
'Every room was crammed from floor to ceiling with rubbish, it has been complete hell living next door to him for five-and-a-half years. I am horrified that he had a dog living there with him.
There was a handgun, swords and nearly a dozen air rifles, they found propane gas and chemicals and they had to stop work whilst the fire brigade handles those chemicals.
'I have been living next door to a potential bomb, filth and rats. On the day they started clearing he challenged me in the street saying "what have you been saying about me?"
'I told him that he lived like a filthy pig and that was insulting to pigs and the police cautioned me saying they didn't want to provoke the situation.
'He does not wash and wears his clothes until they stand up on their own. He has been collecting this stuff for 40 years.
'No normal person would live like that so there must be something wrong with him. To me the house is unfit for human habitation.'
Mrs Thomson said council officials clearing the huge amounts of rubbish found six skeletons of dogs. Windows upstairs shattered years ago and pigeons moved into the loft.
Mr Jones originally ran a second hand shop in his street.
He bought and sold a variety of household items as well as model engineering equipment, plant machinery and tools.
The business has been closed for a decade, but the house nearby was crammed full of far more than simple 'left overs' from the business.
The three-storey terraced house is privately-owned and in good condition would be worth at least £100,000.
It took a team of council contractors and officials almost three weeks to clear the building.
Mr Jones would sit on a bench nearby and watch his house being emptied into a succession of skips.
Council officials are believed to be investigating two other addresses thought to be owned by Mr Jones and containing more bric-a-brac.
It is not known what he intends to do with the house that has just been cleared.
A warrant was granted at Grimsby Magistrates Court uner the 1936 Public Health Act which allows authorities to take control of 'filthy and verminous properties.'
John Waite, the council's environmental enforcement manager, said he believed the house had no running water or gas and was unsure about where the electrical supply had come from.
'Primarily this has been done for the welfare of the occupant, but also for residents.'
Pest controllers were called in to lay bait for huge rats 'the size of small cats' living in the house and contractors were praised by neighbours.
Tina Blanchard, 41, said:'It's awful, really horrible and they deserve a medal for the job they are doing.'
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