Neighbours ‘living in fear’ after trouble at Station St, Norlane unit

A Norlane mum sleeps with a bat next to her bed as squatters sneak into a boarded-up, trashed unit in her street in the middle of the night.

A unit in Station St in Norlane has been trashed and neighbours say there is frequent criminal activity at the home.

A Norlane mum sleeps with a bat next to her bed as squatters sneak into a boarded-up unit in her street in the middle of the night.

The unit on Station St was boarded up about two weeks ago after the windows and doors were smashed, but people were still gaining access to the property.

It is understood the property has been unoccupied since late November.

Photos taken of the inside of the unit and provided to the Geelong Advertiser show what is potentially a threat - “I’ll be back dog have my $$” - painted in white on floorboards.

There is also seemingly explicit graffiti on the pavement outside.

A Norlane unit has been trashed and neighbours say there is frequent criminal activity at the home.

A Norlane unit has been trashed and neighbours say there is frequent criminal activity at the home.

A mother of two, who cannot be named for safety reasons, has lived in the area for 18 months and said there had been ongoing trouble at the unit.

In early January, she woke up at 4am to banging at the property.

She believed a group was using a weapon to smash objects.

“It was next level … I was too scared to turn my TV on,” she said.

A few days prior, she said spanners were thrown over her fence and a padlock was thrown at her window.

In November, a man knocked on her door about 5am, wearing only underwear and wrapped in a blanket.

Her car has also been broken into and her relay fuses were stolen, leaving her unable to start her vehicle.

She said the behaviour was taking a toll on her and her children, who have disabilities.

“There have been times during the school holidays where they have started to smash things during the day .... I’ve had to get my kids out of there,” she said.

“It’s horrific.”

It is understood people wearing dark hooded jumpers have knocked on other homes in the street in the middle of the night, asking for drugs.

Images of the home’s inside showed a broken couch and cabinets, while a pile of rubbish is visible, with an Elmo stuffed toy and dehydrator on the floor.

Rubbish was also dumped at the front of the home, including a mattress and a bike.

The mother said she has complained to Haven Home Safe, which is responsible for the unit, several times in six months.

“The people that were put in there didn’t respect it,” she said.

“We’re in a housing crisis … put someone in there that is going to respect the home.”

Haven Home Safe chief operations officer Vanessa Brotto said doors and windows of the property have been sealed as it had been the “target of criminal activity”.

The organisation finds any unlawful damage to its properties “heart breaking and expensive”.

“As a not-for-profit organisation, repairing vandalism is not the best use of our limited funds so we do everything we can to prevent any damage to our properties,” she said.

“We are working with the police to resolve this issue with the aim of repairing the property so that it can be rented out – which given the desperate need of housing in Geelong, is critical for us to do as soon as possible.”

Originally published as Neighbours ‘living in fear’ after trouble at Station St, Norlane unit