Freddie Starr was facing legal action on £3k unpaid bills when he died

Gerard Couzens10 May 2019
The Weekender

Sign up to our free weekly newsletter for exclusive competitions, offers and theatre ticket deals

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Freddie Starr owed thousand of pounds in unpaid water bills and property charges when he died, neighbours have revealed.

Comic Starr, who became a household name after rising to fame in the Seventies, was found dead at his home in Spain yesterday.

Today it emerged he was being threatened with lawyers after refusing to pay a four-figure debt to managers looking after the Costa del Sol residential complex where he lived.

They are now expected to claim against the 76-year-old’s estate to try to recover the debt.

One of Starr’s neighbours in the resort of Mijas Costa said he had turned into a virtual recluse before his death.

Freddie Starr - In pictures

1/20

The neighbour added: “He moved here around three years ago and bought his house. There’s around 280 properties on the complex and everyone has to pay for the water they use as well as community fees.

Freddie didn’t pay a penny from the day he moved in and simply ignored all attempts to get him to sort out his debt. It was up to around £3,500 by the time he died.”

Another neighbour added: “He refused to discuss the debt with the management committee and that had left no option but to go through the law courts to seek resolution... anyone who inherits the property would have to pay us, although that could take another year or two.”

Police sources said there was nothing to suggest the death of the comic, who suffered asthma and had a quadruple bypass following a heart attack in 2010, was suspicious.

His carer made an emergency call at about 3pm yesterday. It is not known exactly when Starr died, although the carer told police she saw him alive in the morning and she is understood to have returned to the property in the afternoon after failing to reach him on the phone.

The former I’m A Celebrity star, married three times, sold up and left the UK after losing a £1 million libel case in 2015 against Karin Ward, then 57. She claimed he put his hand up her skirt when she was a teenager. A High Court judge ruled she was telling the truth.

In 1987 Starr was the subject of one of the most famous newspaper headlines over claims he ate a hamster after performing at a nightclub. He later said it was a fabrication.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in