Paul Hogan is trapped in a living nightmare as his neighbourhood in Los Angeles suffers a wave of crime and homelessness.
The Crocodile Dundee star, 81, lives in the once-elite beachside suburb of Venice, where a vast increase in homelessness has seen hundreds of tents line the beach’s famous boardwalk and resulted in a sharp increase in crime.
Paul is now reportedly holed up inside his ‘fortress-like’ $4.5million mansion with his musician son Chance, 23, eagerly waiting for the day he can finally return home to Australia.
‘Hell on earth’: Paul Hogan, 81, is trapped in a living nightmare as his neighbourhood Venice, Los Angeles, suffers a wave of crime and homelessness
‘Where Paul lives in hell on earth,’ Paul’s neighbour Tyler Proctor, a local politician, told Woman’s Day magazine.
‘His house is like a fortress and it needs to be. I can see why [he] wants to move out,’ Mr Proctor added.
Paul moved to the United States permanently in 2005, after growing up in Granville in Sydney’s western suburbs.
Crisis: Venice has seen a vast increase in crime and homelessness, with hundreds of tents now lining the beach’s famous boardwalk (pictured)
However, the comedian revealed last year that he was itching to leave the U.S. as soon as the coronavirus pandemic is over.
‘I can’t wait for this stupid disease to go away so I can get out,’ Paul revealed in the News Corp podcast Evenin’ Viewers with Paul Hogan.
‘I’m like a kangaroo in a Russian zoo – I don’t belong here.’
Fears: Paul is reportedly holed up inside his ‘fortress-like’ $4.5million mansion with his musician son Chance, 23, eagerly waiting for the day he can finally return home to Australia
Despite yearning to come back to Australia, Paul said he would remain living in Venice to be a part of his son’s life.
Paul shares Chance with Crocodile Dundee co-star Linda Kozlowski, whom he married in 1991 before divorcing in 2014.
‘I’m here out of paternal duty because my kid is an American,’ he said.
‘I can’t wait for this stupid disease to go away so I can get out’: The comedian revealed last year that he was itching to leave the U.S. as soon as the coronavirus pandemic is over
‘My kid is a “Yaussie”, a yank Aussie, he went to school here, his friends are here, his band is here.’
Paul added that if Chance was prepared to move with him to Australia, Paul would be ‘out of here in a flash’.
It comes as residents of Venice say soaring crime rates and the exploding homeless population have made life in the elite beachside community unbearable.
‘I’m here out of paternal duty’: Despite yearning to come back to Australia, Paul said he would remain living in Venice to be a part of his son Chance’s life. Pictured in December 2016
Terrifying situation: It comes as residents of Venice say soaring crime rates and the exploding homeless population have made life in the elite beachside community unbearable
Business owners say they are being forced to close their doors and longterm residents are afraid to leave their homes after dark after being subjected to violent attacks and intimidation.
The world-famous beach community, 16 miles from downtown Los Angeles, has traditionally been a major tourism drawcard for the Californian city.
However, now the palm trees and promenade are blighted by hundreds of tents.
Tent city: The world-famous beach community, 16 miles from downtown Los Angeles, has traditionally been a major tourism drawcard for the Californian city. However, now the palm trees and promenade are blighted by hundreds of tents
Police patrol the Venice Beach Boardwalk on April 20, which has seen an explosion in homeless numbers during COVID lockdowns
Venice Family Clinic’s Director of Homeless Services Dr. Coley King, left, treats Kenard Durr, center, at the world-famous beach. A homeless encampment at the beach has exploded during COVID lockdown (April 20)
Venice Neighbourhood Council member Soledad Ursua said the homeless encampments had exploded during the COVID-19 lockdowns.
She said residents were afraid to be out after dark, and there were fights several times a day and shootings and stabbings on a weekly basis.
‘It’s just a very dangerous time to be a Venice resident right now,’ she said.
Rubbish and waste litter the golden sands of Venice Beach. Anti-social elements have made it dangerous to go out after dark, residents say
Fights occur several times a day, while shootings and stabbings are common, say residents of Venice Beach, who are fearful of increased crime rates since the homeless encampments became permanent
‘Venice’s world famous beach and boardwalk are crippled,’ a letter to city and county officials from residents says
According to figures from the Los Angeles Police Department provided to the Venice Neighbourhood Council, the violent robberies in the neighbourhood are up 177 per cent from last year.
The same period has also seen a 162 per cent increase in cases of assault with a deadly weapon involving a homeless person.
Meanwhile, hundreds of residents have put their signatures to a letter pleading for help from city and county officials.
‘Venice’s world famous beach and boardwalk are crippled,’ it says.
‘Local children are refusing to come to the beach because they’re frightened by what they’ve witnessed. Seniors who live on or near the boardwalk are terrified of walking in their own neighbourhoods.’
According to figures from the Los Angeles Police Department provided to the Venice Neighbourhood Council, the violent robberies in the neighbourhood are up 177 per cent from last year