Alice Springs man’s house destroyed while he is hospital after heart attack

A homeowner has suffered the cruelty of having his home broken into and trashed while in hospital recovering from heart surgery after a cardiac arrest.

‘Sammy the Can Man’ was laid up in a hospital in Darwin while his home was vandalised in Alice Springs in May.

Locals in the central Australian town have since rallied around him with resident Blade Davies-Roundhill starting a GoFundMe page.

He said the house looked like it had been ‘hit by a tornado’ following the break-in. 

‘While Sam is laid up in hospital very unwell, people have decided to break into his unit and steal and smash everything of value,’ Mr Davies-Roundhill wrote. 

‘There seems to be blood and other bodily fluids all over the place including on his bed.

‘All the things Sam had of sentimental and monetary value have been stolen or smashed.’

Mr Davies-Roundhill revealed Sammy, who is well known for driving around in his ute ‘collecting cans to make a little bit of a living’, suffered a heart attack three weeks ago.

After being admitted to Alice Springs hospital he was flown to a hospital in Darwin where he has been recovering following the heart surgery.

Mr Davies-Roundhill said he started the online fund-raiser to get Sam’s home into better shape before he returns to it. 

‘Any help will be appreciated in helping Sam be able to come home to a liveable environment,’ Mr Davies-Roundhill wrote. 

By Sunday morning almost $2,000 had been pledged.

The wave of crime and violence in Alice Springs has become a national issue with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese forced to make a hasty trip to the area in January as territory and federal Labor governments were accused of ignoring the problem.

Sammy the Can Man’ is know for driving around Alice Springs in his ute collecting cans to make a living from the refunds

Sammy’s unit’s window was smashed by the vandals and thieves who ran amok once inside

At that time if was revealed that over 200 properties were up for sale in the regional centre with a population of 26,000.

Figures for last year show property offences rose by almost 60 per cent, assaults increased by 38 per cent and domestic violence assaults doubled.

During his brief visit to the town, Mr Albanese announced new alcohol restrictions and promised $48.8m over two years for programs to address the crime problem.

LNP Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, an Alice Springs local and outspoken critic of how the Labor governments are handling it, told an interviewer last month she has been warned off going shopping in the town’s centre.

She said women and even children were being groped and others were being attacked.