Australian singer, Tones and I (Toni Watson). Photo / Supplied
Australian singer, Tones and I (Toni Watson). Photo / Supplied
Australian singer Tones and I returned to one of her properties this week to find that squatters had taken it over, documenting their destruction on social media.
The Dance Monkey singer, who has become something of a mini property mogul with purchases of several multimillion-dollar homes around Australia in recentyears, visited one of the homes she owns in Byron Bay this week to find that squatters had moved in.
In footage shared to her Instagram account, Tones could be seen chatting with police outside her home, alongside a pile of rubbish from the squatters including “stolen TVs” and “needles and drug s**t”.
“POLICE HAVE BEEN CALLED! Take your s**t and go,” a sign outside the house reads.
Speaking to Fox FM’s Fifi, Fev & Nick this morning, Tones – real name Toni Watson – said she visited the house to prepare it for some friends staying.
“We were there only a week ago – and in that time we’ve had some sort of squatters who have completely demolished it,” she told the hosts.
She said builders across the road had told her the squatters “weren’t in a good way”.
“They’re pretty hectic. The police came round … apparently they hit a few robberies up in Byron, so we’ve got people watching the house today to see if they come back,” she said.
“The least they could do is clean up after themselves and maybe have a shower … the couches are all dirty. At least shower in the house if you’re going to use it. I don’t know how to wash a mattress, but I’m going to figure it out today.”
She also said she found “needles, crack pipes and weed plants” in the home, and that police knew the identity of the squatters.
The home was the most recent addition to Tones’ growing property portfolio, having been purchased in August of this year.
Tones’ squatter run-in comes as the Byron Bay region experiences a homelessness crisis, with rising rents and a lack of available properties forcing more locals onto the streets.