Fed up neighbours band together to boot out squatters
A group of resourceful residents living in a cul-de-sac on the New South Wales Central Coast have banded together to kick out a mob of squatters who had been wreaking havoc on and in the vacated home of a disabled man.
Walls had been destroyed, a car had been set alight – and the community had finally said they'd had enough.
"For the last several months we've had squatters living in our cul-de-sac running a 24-hour a day, drive-through drug den," local resident Christy told A Current Affair.
Christy claimed squatters and drug users have been a problem next door for years.
"Lots of fighting, brawling, threats to kill each other, to shoot each other," she said.
"(They say), 'Bitch better have my money', you know, constantly."
Christy then told the programme that things had ramped up recently, and it all culminated in the lighting of a dangerous car fire.
"The flames were like two storeys tall. My whole house reeks of burned tyres and we've all had enough. We all have little girls ... and we can't let our kids out," Christy said.
"My partner woke me up in the morning (and said), 'Oh my god, there's a car fire' so we ran out and looked out the window and yeah, that was too far," another neighbour, Dean Rainback, said.
Rainback said the fire was the final straw for him and his young family.
"There's trees over there where the car is and that house right next door could have caught fire," he said.
"I'm from Texas, we don't put up with this kind of crap," Christy said. "So we decided we would take things into our own hands and get them out ourselves."
Christy said she gave her unwanted neighbours "a verbal warning" to let them know the "jig is up, we've had enough".
"I also shouted it in the house - 'Tomorrow's the day. It's over'," Christy said.
True to her word, Christy and the other neighbours confronted the squatters and kicked them out!
The group of frustrated neighbours then surveyed the damage and were shocked by what they saw.
After removing all the junk, they boarded up the house, so no one could get back inside.
The unit belongs to a disabled man named Terry who is now living with his mother after disability support workers who were paid to care for him failed to do so.
"I think that is a disgrace, that it has been left to neighbours to do this," she said.
The neighbours have now organised a council pick-up to get rid of the squatters' mess.
Images: A Current Affair