The Whitfield petrol station has been forced to padlock its bowsers to prevent thefts in a town with no police.
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The station became unmanned 18 months ago after the single officer went on extended leave.
Resident Delia Jackson said people in the town felt scared and isolated without a police presence.
They reported hunters spotlighting on private land, drunks being loud in the street and domestic violence incidents which required police to respond from Benalla.
“You now have to go into the (petrol station) shop to get the key,” Ms Jackson said.
“Never did anyone expect that to happen in Whitfield.”
The Nationals’ Victorian leader Peter Walsh told Parliament this week the state was going through a “law and order crisis” and raised Whitfield as an example of problems in the country.
“People in that town are desperate – despite the member raising it constantly ... the government chooses to do nothing about making sure there is a police presence in Whitfield,” he said.
