THE strike force hunting the arsonist behind dozens of suspicious fires near Inverell is probing several new leads.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
A community call for information in Tingha over the last two days has unearthed new pieces of information, as police probe who is behind more than 30 fires that have been lit around the Tingha township and nearby national park.
Strike Force Illingworth – a joint operation between local detectives, Tingha police and Arson Squad investigators – is trying to find who has been torching grasslands.
“We’ve spoken to a lot of members in the community in Tingha and quite a number of pieces of fresh information have come to hand,” New England Detective Inspector Ann Joy said.
“From this point onwards, we’ll be intensely working on those lines of inquiry over the next few weeks.”
Detective Inspector Joy said luckily no property had been lost or anyone injured.
“Regardless of the size of the fires that we've had already, the frequency is a concern,” she said.
“Even a small fire can develop into a catastrophic fire in a short period of time.
“We are in the middle of the bushfire danger period and we want to resolve these matters as a priority before the really dry parts of the region.
“Essentially we're looking for suspicious vehicles or motorbikes, together with descriptions of persons connected to those because these fires have been happening during the daylight hours and through the evening.”