Tacoronte Residents Petition Council Over Unsanitary Neighbour's Home

Residents in Tacoronte have started a Facebook petition to help a neighbor. The 70-year-old woman has a 65% disability and has been diagnosed with paranoia and Diogenes Syndrome – a condition that leads to extreme social isolation, self-neglect, and poor hygiene.

This woman lives surrounded by rubbish at 55 General Road, right in the town centre. She sleeps and uses the space as a toilet. Despite receiving a pension of almost 900 euros a month, her home has no water or electricity.

Her sister, Dulce Peraza, first spoke about the situation weeks ago in the newspaper DIARIO DE AVISOS. The lack of hygiene and exposed faeces in public areas have made the surroundings of her home a breeding ground for insects, rodents, and bacteria.

This problem has gone on for many years, but it's now becoming unbearable due to the unhygienic conditions it creates. Nearby homes and businesses are plagued by bad smells, rodents, and insects.

Passers-by are also affected, finding it unsafe to walk through the area as the woman often threatens them. Even her own family members cannot access her property.

Because of this, they started the petition on the 'Tacoronteando' Facebook page. By yesterday, 219 signatures had been collected, and they hope to gather many more to pressure the city council and relevant authorities to 'take action once and for all.'

'We want to show the authorities how many people are affected,' said the page administrators, whose site has 6,995 members. 'This situation has gone on for many years, and we want solutions to be found and action to be taken before something serious happens.'