An Albury unit resident who has received years of support from a church repaid the faith by defecating on the floor, painting and drawing messages on the walls, and leaving half a dead sheep in a bin. The Cahill Place resident caused about $30,000 in damage to the property, which is given to people in need by St Matthews Church. Father Peter MacLeod-Miller said the unit "stunk to high heaven" when the damage was discovered on Friday, December 1. The damage involved paint being splashed around, poo and food left on the floor, messages to church members drawn across the property, and the animal carcass being dumped. Food, including sausages and rotten eggs, was visible at the site with overturned paint tins. One message read "how much rent will you lose till you can rent this place again". A heater was also turned on and glued with petrol left nearby. The trashing was a heavy blow to the church, which had supported the man for four years, including taking him to hospital at 3am when he was ill and trying to get his life in order. "We were furious that we live in a society where people who help others are the target of this sort of appalling, public mismanagement," he said. "The public housing authorities have supported his right to do whatever he wanted to do against us. "At the end of the day, he was basically laughing at us, saying he could do whatever he liked and we had no rights at all. "Our rights are to help people, but we were never thinking of our rights to protect ourselves." The man left the church with a $10,000 cleaning bill. The cleaners bought in said they had never seen anything like it. Police attended the scene but told Father MacLeod-Miller it was a matter that needed to be sorted out with insurers, rather than legal action being taken. Father MacLeod-Miller took steps to warn other accommodation providers about the man, aged in his 70s, and called support agencies to speak about their failings. "We dialled all the caravan parks in the area to warn them that a cyclone is coming their way," he said. "The stench was hard to imagine. "There was half a rotting sheep in a rubbish bin - a proper sheep with maggots and everything. "It's not a pretty sight and was an even more unpleasant smell." Father MacLeod-Miller said he felt shattered and broken-hearted when reflecting on the help the church had given the man. "It felt like the end of the world, after doing so much for someone and feeling so betrayed," he said. The accommodation is provided using funds raised by the community. He said such people shouldn't be in the community and should instead be receiving help from mental health providers, but added the support services had essentially backed the man and his right to destroy the home. "I think the government departments are winding people up, putting a bomb on their backs and setting them loose in the community," the priest said. "Sometimes the government departments create kamikaze arrangements in the community, and that's tragic. "I must say though that he is the tiny minority. "Most people in need respond well, but every now and then there is an exception."
