Eastbourne ‘recluse’ who lived without electricity and gas leaves £250,000 windfall to strangers

Finders International said when Richard Ticehurst, 70, was found dead in his Old Town home in February 2021, little was known about him or his family as he hadn’t left a will.

A spokesperson from the firm said: “Almost two years since his death, surprised relatives scattered across the globe have been located and are set to inherit an unexpected windfall.”

Finders International, which stars in BBC’s Heir Hunters, was asked to search for relatives entitled to inherit Mr Ticehurst’s estate – and they managed to trace 31 relatives.

The firm said Mr Ticehurst, whose house did not have gas or electricity, was an only child and had never married or had children.

A spokesperson added: “He was ‘a sort of recluse’ and ‘didn’t have any visitors’, according to local residents.”

Mr Ticehurst had more than £250,000 in his estate because he owned his three-bedroom house as it had been left to him in his mother’s will. He also had further cash in a few bank accounts.

Yvonne, who emigrated to Australia from Manchester in 1974, was one of the beneficiaries. She said: “I was totally surprised to have been contacted by Finders International. I never knew anything about Richard, however when Finders explained the connections it made sense.

“I now understand that my mother, Muriel Ticehurst, who died in 2019, was a first cousin of Richard. So my (maternal) grandfather, Ernest Ticehurst, and Richard’s father, Alfred, were brothers. It’s just amazing.

“I am totally in awe of how Finders traced me and indeed found us all, scattered throughout the world, back to Richard. Not only have I lived in Australia for almost 50 years but I have also divorced and remarried so I go by a different surname too.

“We’ve been lucky enough to reunite with some of the extended family.”

Finders International found relatives in England, Scotland, Canada, Australia and America.

Firm founder Danny Curran said: “Without a will we have no idea what Richard’s final wishes would have been. However we are pleased that, in the circumstances, his relatives have rightfully inherited the estate and that this family have been reunited despite being spread across continents.”

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