Main Menu
Sub Main Menu
sunshine coast
noosa
coolum
national
world
6:57PM Sunday 07 September, 2008 Sunshine Coast weather Mostly sunny min 10° - max 23°

Mindless vandalism could portend worse

30 June 2008

| By Grant Reynolds

A series of arson attacks in the last three weeks has police on the hunt for fire bugs in the Tewantin and Noosaville areas.

It appears the culprits’ target of choice is the humble wheelie-bin.

On the night of June 6 a boat moored at Pelican Boat Hire’s jetty was set alight along with a number of wheelie-bins in the park nearby. Last weekend a set of wheelie-bins outside an apartment complex were rendered puddles of melted plastic. Then in the early hours of Thursday morning, police said a ute was found partly burned in bush just outside Tewantin.

The incident on Hilton Terrace has resident Steve Modrich wondering what lengths the firebugs will go to before a major fire occurs.

The bins were inside a brick enclosure and the flames scorched nearby trees and cracked the brick-work. Mr Modrich said the fire took previous instances of vandalism to a new level.

“It’s not kids’ games, it’s serious, any of these fires could have caused serious damage,” Mr Modrich said.

“This is a new dimension to the vandalism, it’s not a couple of cigarettes dropped in the bin on the way back from the pub.”

In the past months the property on Hilton Terrace has had the letterbox set alight, lights destroyed and a trail of broken bottles strewn along the footpath and in the gardens.

Mr Modrich called on residents to report all incidents to the police to help them with their investigations, and he called for additional lighting to be added to a section of street about 500m long that has no street lights.

Noosa police detective sergeant Paul Reilly said it was unusual for this number of arson incidents in such a short space of time.

If you have seen anything related to the fires or experienced problems with vandalism, call Noosa Heads police station on 5447 5888, and write to us at noosa ed@scnews.com.au.

Have your say

We welcome comments on our stories and blogs - after all it's your site. Please note comments should be on-topic and not abusive. Comments are checked before publication.