Watch: 'I feel violated' - Woman shaken after finding intruder living in her house for weeks

A mum and her three young kids have been left shaken and fearful after they discovered an intruder had been living secretly in her house for three weeks.

Queensland mum Monica Green began to notice some odd occurrences around her Rockhampton home but brushed it off thinking her children had misplaced items and a faulty security camera system.

But her suspicions led her to call police after she returned home early from a doctor's appointment to find numerous inexplicable disturbances, leaving her alarmed.

Green had come home to find the back door was wide open, the air-conditioning and TV on and a half-cooked plate of chicken nuggets on the oven.

When police arrived they discovered a manhole in her ceiling partially open.

Police also found evidence of a person living in the ceiling.

Police found evidence a person had been living in the ceiling after the hatch was slightly ajar. Photo / Nine News

"I felt violated. I felt like my personal space had been invaded. I felt shocked, terrified, scared," Green told the Courier Mail.

However, the person living in the ceiling has yet to be found.

Green believes the person gained access to the house after stealing her keys. She has since changed the locks.

Monica Green (pictured) and her three kids are living in fear after learning an intruder had been living in their Rockhampton home for weeks. Photo / Nine News

A mother-of-three and her young kids are living in constant fear after learning an intruder was living in their ceiling for weeks. Photo / Nine News

The incident has left Green and her family frightened, especially with her husband out of town for work.

Now they're terrified the intruder will return, and fears they could have sinister plans.

"What has this person been doing in my house when I'm not home? Were they trying to harm me or my kids? Did they want one of my kids? Were they going to come down at night and murder us? There's all these unknown questions rolling around in my head," she said.

"I'm finding myself constantly shaking at the smallest noise. I'm triple-checking all my locks now before I go to bed. I spent the night in the house last night with family here, but being alone in the home scares me."

The act of secretly living in someone's home is not unheard of and has been given the name "phrogging" because culprits tend to "hop" from one residence to another.