Thousands of cigarettes lined the loft in my aunt's house

When clearing out a family member's home, you could find many strange things in the attic.

But perhaps the last thing you'd expect to discover would be discarded cigarette tips and filters being used as insulation. With no tobacco in them, of course.

But this is exactly what James Christie discovered in his aunt's house - and there were "literally tens of thousands" of them, all unused.

He said his aunt's house was built more than 60 years ago, and the unused cigarette filters and tips, were most likely from the local cigarette factory which has since closed its doors.

Mid and East Antrim Borough Council said building regulations introduced in the 1970s led to the widespread use of safe insulation materials like glass, wool and fibreglass.

But it said it was not aware of homes using cigarette materials as insulation in the local area.

Christie said when he saw the cigarettes, it was a "wee flashback" after seeing them years ago when he was clearing out the attic.

His aunt's house is located in Galgorm, County Antrim, close to the former cigarette factory.

He said this was "obviously where they came from".

"In between every rafter supported by the plasterboard of the ceiling, where you would see modern day soft and spongy insulation, some parts are filled with the orange tips. The part of the cigarette people put in their mouth," he said.

"So some are filled with that and then others are filled with the white paper tube with a longer tip in it."

Christie, who works as a plumber, said he had seen filters and tips being used as insulation in other houses in the Ballymena area.

"I'm told some of the times when machines had dropped the filters or the tips onto the floor, they obviously couldn't be used and then they were discarded and I suppose people used them for other things," he said.

He found out that the house next door to his aunt's house has used them as insulation too.

Cigarette maker JTI Gallaher closed its factory in 2014 which led to the loss of more than 800 jobs.

A former employee of the company, Niall Doherty, said the cigarette filters and tips were "waste off the machines and probably would have been put in the bin".

"The filters would be very good insulation, and someone had a light bulb moment and probably bought this as scrap off their manager," he said.

"The word would have spread quickly through the factory that this was indeed a great job, and I would say it was a cheap way of insulating the roof space."

Insulation is an extra layer of material that is designed to reduce heat loss through a property's roof.

Common insulation materials include fibreglass, non-combustible mineral wool, foam boards and natural fibre such as wood or cork.

All insulation must comply with the current regulations which are the Building Regulations (NI) 2012.

Building Regulations in Northern Ireland were first introduced in the 1970s, and the Department of Finance, which developed the policy, said that insulation installations carried out prior to this "would not be subject to these requirements retrospectively".

"Non-combustible mineral wool is commonly used for roof space insulation, however, a wide range of other board and loose fill materials are also available.

"The use of cigarette filters and tips as insulation would not be something that the department would recognise or recommend."

The Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service has also warned "against the use of cigarette materials as a method of attic insulation due to the potential fire risks that it presents".

A spokesperson added that it "advises everyone to have their attic insulated using appropriate materials installed by a qualified professional".

Mid and East Antrim Council said that "any property being sold or rented must have a valid Energy Performance Certificate, which reflects insulation and energy efficiency".