Homeless people on the Gold Coast are having their belongings, including clothes, blankets and identification, confiscated by council workers.
Richard, one of hundreds of people living on the streets on the south end of the coast, keeps what he has in a trolley and moves around regularly, trying to stay unnoticed and not bother anyone.
He said he lost everything — and not for the first time — when he left his possessions unattended for a few minutes recently in Coolangatta.
"It's happened a couple of times recently when I took a trip to the toilet," he said.
"Taking people's stuff or throwing it away, that doesn't win anything — all that does is put that person in a worse predicament because then they've got to start again with totally nothing.
According to City of Gold Coast, items considered "a public health risk" or "abandoned" were removed from public spaces.
But Richard and the group of homeless men he spends time with say council workers often waited at or drove by the areas they frequent, sometimes moving them on or — if they were not there — taking their things.
Richard said he and his friends have had to resort to taking shifts to look after their possessions to avoid being targeted.
"We've got to have something, we can't have nothing — what would you do in this situation?" he said.
"I lost everything you could imagine a person could have."
'Treating them like animals'
John Lee, the founder of homeless service You Have A Friend, said it was a common problem.
"The homeless guys know that this is a regular occurrence — these [council] people do this often to them," he said.
"They see the vans coming and they come and take it.
"They're treating them like animals.
"These guys are extremely distraught — that's all of their possessions.
A Gold Coast problem
Mr Lee said it would be a different story if the men were based just across the border in Tweed Heads.
"This is the Gold Coast council, Tweed Shire Council does a great job," he said.
"Queensland is a totally different kettle of fish, the police and council rangers — I've had many a run-in with both.
"We've had to defend people for sleeping in bushes and bus shelters, and recently the Gold Coast council rangers have been causing a lot of problems for these guys.
"They're told they're not wanted in Goodwin Park, it's a big park, away from houses, they don't leave it untidy, all their possessions are in shopping trolleys.
Mr Lee said after the incidents he had tried to call the Gold Coast council on behalf of some of the homeless people, particularly those without mobile phones.
"Gold Coast council refused to speak to me, all I wanted to know is where is the stuff so the boys can collect it," he said.
"They said, 'If you don't own it, we won't speak to you.'
'Abandoned items'
When questioned about the allegations made by Richard and Mr Lee, the City of Gold Coast said it would not discuss individual cases.
In a statement, a spokesperson said items "obstructing access or considered a public health issue may be removed from public spaces".
"Abandoned items that do not pose a health or safety risk would be tagged with a sticker advising a date they need to be collected prior to being removed," the statement said.
Richard said he wished the council would be more understanding and not "kick them while they're down".
"Anyone can become homeless, your marriage could break up, your partner might die, you could lose your mental health and things fall apart," he said.
"Not all of us are fortunate enough to have money and be given a silver spoon in life — a lot of us get the tail end of nothing.
"We've got nowhere to go and no-one gives a damn.
