Twice now Julie Moore has come face-to-face with intruders in her home, but on Tuesday night when her door was beaten down and she was accosted by a man wielding a log splitter, she feared for her life.
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Julie lives in the Maitland area and owns her own home located opposite public housing.
She said vandalism and violence is nothing unusual in her neck of the woods but after two home invasions she has called on the State Government and public housing provider Hume Community Housing, for immediate action.
Her 'run in' with the neighbours started in October last year when a nearby resident allegedly broke into her house while Julie was doing computer work inside.
Julie heard a commotion and saw a woman across the road lying on the grass and banging on the side of a house yelling "let me in."
The woman crossed the street to Julie's place and started banging on the rear window of her housemate's car and yelling "I'm going to see how these people live."
Julie quickly locked one of her front access doors but was too slow getting to a sliding door attached to her front verandah.
"I called the police and I met her at the screen door which she started to open," Julie said.
"When she walked in I tried to block her because she was insisting she wanted to walk through the house and see how I live. She was commenting on the colour of my lounge and loungeroom. I had 000 on the phone at the time."
Julie said the woman's behaviour was erratic - one minute she was crying and talking, the next yelling in a rage.
"I got her sitting at the dining room table and asked her to go outside to talk. I kept asking her name and she kept yelling aggressively at me saying "you know who I am," but I didn't."
The woman found a pair of scissors on the dining room table which she grabbed. "I got them off her and then got her out of the house and locked the door behind me and we sat at the table and chairs on the front deck. I tried to keep her talking."
Police arrived 14 minutes later - the longest 14 minutes of Julie's life. "I was pretty scared and shaking a lot.
"I tried not to let that show in my voice. It was pretty terrifying. She started looking down her top at one stage and I didn't know if she had a weapon."
Julie's housemate was also at home at the time but did not get involved.
The woman was charged and the matter dealt with in court.
But that incident pales in comparison to what Julie and her local bible study group encountered earlier this week as they were holed up in her house and allegedly abused and assaulted by a man wielding a timber splitter.
"Five of us were sitting in the main loungeroom at the front of the house when we heard an almighty bang that could have been a gun shot," Julie said.
The banging continued. The minister who was leading the group went to investigate.
They confronted the alleged offender - the minister asking him to stop breaking the door down and telling Julie to call the police.
"It was pretty chaotic in the house with the yelling and the banging which resulted in my back door being totally destroyed.
"He came into the house and myself and the other ladies inside went out the front door. I went around the back to get a better look and he had totally smashed in the back door then turned and started to walk away from the house. I ran around the front to grab my bag and phone to get a photo of him and I was on hold to 000.
"He still had hold of the log splitter. Another lady who claimed to be his mother appeared and started yelling at him to stop.
"We were terrified and in tears - one member of the group locking herself in her car. It was pretty volatile," Julie said.
The man put the log splitter down. "But this is when he started throwing these high kicks at the minister - one connected with his shoulder. He started swinging punches and one connected to his cheek which resulted in him having to get stitches," Julie said.
The man moved off. Soon after a man was arrested and charged with a number of offences.
Julie has been in touch with Member for Maitland Jenny Aitchison who will raise the incidents with the appropriate minister.
She has also contacted Hume Community Housing in an attempt to have the people moved from the property. A Hume spokesperson said the incident was an ongoing police investigation and they could provide little comment. However they did say that Hume assumed management of the property in September this year. "We are in contact with Ms Moore and have discussed the incident and gain knowledge from Ms Moore of the history associated with this complaint. It is our priority to resolve this matter promptly."
Julie said she complained to Family and Community Services after the first incident but had not heard back.
"How bad do things have to get - this would have been addressed by now in the private rental world," she said.