An elderly woman is hiding in her own home in suburban Alice Springs after a spate of break-ins over the past month.
Daphne Oldfield, 84, lives alone, uses a walking frame and is terrified of leaving her Eastside house, even to sit in her own garden oasis.
Her daughter, Debbie Page, said her mother had faced an onslaught of break-ins over a five- to six-week period.
"First off it was kids that broke into her home ... when she was sleeping," Ms Page said.
"They were going through her house, they had stolen money and whatever. And she woke up to find them there."
Ms Page said that was traumatising for her mother, who tried to stop the perpetrators from taking her walking frame.
"She holds on for dear life to the walking frame, and after an episode I went around to see her and she looked at me with very sad eyes.
"She said, 'Deb, they nearly pulled my arms off'."
Ms Page said that since the first incident there had been several others, with groups returning to her mother's home during the day.
"She is an absolute sitting duck. It seems when the kids run out of money, or they want to have a bit of whatever, they just go to her house."
Ms Page is hoping to get a CCTV trailer parked near her mother's house but conceded they were a finite resource.
"[The police] are aware that it's significant and that it's critical, and she has been traumatised," she said.
Ms Page said all her mother wanted to do was live a simple existence of sitting in her garden and listening to the radio.
"That's all she's asking for these final years. That's all she would love to do. And she can't do that.
"She's not really coping. So what she's resorted to is hiding in her house.
"She locks herself in, she pulls the curtain, she locks the window, she locks the doors, and she hides in her house."
Ms Page said her mother was not eating.
'Horrific' when elderly don't feel safe in own homes
Centre of the Ageing NT chief executive Sue Shearer said Ms Oldfield's situation was tragic.
"I was really quite concerned, worried and horrified that a senior would have to put up with this sort of behaviour," she said.
"When you're 84, 87 and older you can't defend yourself and these people are actually targeted, so it's just so wrong.
"I would urge the government to do something now. We need something right now.
"It's just horrific. And it's just a shame ... that the seniors do not feel safe at home."
Ms Shearer said she would like the Alice Springs Town Council to lobby the NT Government for a gated community for seniors.
Consequences needed
Mayor Matt Paterson said he was heartbroken to hear about Ms Oldfield's situation and had passed on the concerns to the Chief Minister.
"I think if the offenders are found then they've got to face consequences for making people so scared," he said.
"What we have now is people feeling unsafe and scared in their own house and to me, when that happens in Alice Springs in 2022, we've hit the end of the road and we need to change that."
Chief Minister Natasha Fyles said she had asked her team to look into Ms Oldfield's situation.
"Anyone should be able to live with support in their own home or we should be able to provide options for them if they wish to," she said.
"We are certainly happy to meet with Centre of the Ageing and listen to their ideas and work with the community around options for people that are senior Territorians."
