A West Australian man found himself back on the streets after his mobile home was impounded.
Once living in a house with his wife, Tim Tonkin could never have expected to end up homeless in his 40s.
But when his wife died in 2015 he soon joined the list of people experiencing homelessness.
He lived on the streets for six years before getting a mobile home, which he referred to as a safe haven for himself and his partner.
However, that was taken away from him in a heartbeat.
After driving under the influence, Mr Tonkin said he came into Mandurah, on WA's southwest coast, twice a week to check his mail to see if he had a notice to appear in court.
Claiming he never received a summons, Mr Tonkin continued to drive until he was pulled over by the police in early November.
It was then that his mobile home was impounded leaving himself and his partner homeless.
I know what the streets of Mandurah are like at night, they're not kind
- Tim Tonkin
It took Mr Tonkin over two months to save up $1500 to get his mobile home back.
Over that period, he and his partner were sleeping on the streets, which he said took a toll on the pair emotionally, physically and financially.
"We worked so hard to get our mobile home and for it to be taken away so quickly was saddening," he said.
"I cried the day they pulled me over because it's not just me, I have my lady to look after as well.
"My lady can't be out in the cold because she has a lung condition - she needs steroids for her condition.
"We were sleeping with ants on a concrete floor at one point."
He said trying to keep her dry and safe was the hardest thing.
Living on the streets for six years before getting his mobile home he said he had adapted to sleeping rough but the pair still feared for their safety every night.
"I know what the streets of Mandurah are like at night, they're not kind," Mr Tonkin said.
"We had some guy with a shovel trying to attack us because he thought we tried to get into his backyard - the cops came and went through all of our stuff but there was nothing in there that belonged to him.
"There was no apology from the man and he scared my Mrs terribly."
Left stranded, Mr Tonkin said he wanted the police to have more of a duty of care when dealing with the homeless.
"The police kicked us out of a tin shed one night and we had nowhere else to go," he said.
"No duty of care was shown - go pick on the real criminals and leave us poor beggars alone."
IN OTHER NEWS:
A WA police spokesperson said it was general practice for officers to offer support to a person who may be in need of shelter.
Support could include contacting crisis accommodation providers, transporting a person to support service locations, or where a person did not want police assistance it may just be providing information so the person knows what they may be able to access.
"Ultimately, the Department of Communities manages the crisis accommodation services available in WA and police officers will do what they can to alert persons in need of accommodation to what may be available and how they can seek that support."
In Mr Tonkin's case, a WA police spokesperson said when the couple's mobile home was impounded the officer offered assistance for alternative accommodation but help was declined.
The Mandurah Magistrates Court heard how the incident unfolded.
On November 2 at 1.30pm, Mr Tonkin was driving his Mitsubishi Winnebago caravan on Coolibah Avenue when he was pulled over by the police.
At the time he was disqualified from driving from October 27, 2021 to July 27, 2022 for a previous conviction.
His mobile home was then impounded.
Duty lawyer Clare Hay told the court that Mr Tonkin wasn't aware of his previous court appearance or suspension when he was driving on November 2.
She said he didn't receive his summons to appear in court as he wasn't living at the address the mail was sent to.
Mr Tonkin pleaded guilty to one count of no authority to drive (disqualified from holding or obtaining).
His license was suspended for nine months on top of his prior disqualification and he was ordered to complete 75 hours of community service. He also paid $259.30 in court costs.
Magistrate Leanne Atkins told Mr Tonkin to "park your mobile home up and stay".
