Firefighter charged over fire that ripped through Kurri Kurri

BY JESSICA ROUSE

UPDATE:

A firefighter accused of lighting bushfires around Cessnock during the January heatwave has been stood down by Fire and Rescue NSW.

Joshua Lambkin is charged with lighting three fires at Kurri Kurri, Loxford and Chinamamn's Hollow.

At the time the 28-year-old was an on-call firefighter at the Abermain fire station.

Lambkin has been granted conditional bail to face Cessnock Court on September 6.

His younger brother Craig has also been charged over the fires.

EARLIER:

Two men have now been charged over four bushfires which threatened homes in Kurri Kurri earlier this year.

Strike Force detectives have been investigating the fires which ripped through Chinamans Hollow, Hart Road at Loxford and McLeod Road at Kurri Kurri on 18th January, after fears the fires had been deliberately lit. The detectives were assisted by Crime Squad's Arson unit as well which helped lead to the arrests.

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A 28-year-old man was arrested at his home in Weston on Monday (31 July 2017) and taken to Maitland Police Station where he was charged with four counts of intentionally causing a fire and concealing the indictable offence of another person.

He was granted conditional bail and will appear at Cessnock Local Court in September.

NSW Fire and Rescue also say the man has been suspended from his duties.

The other offender, a 27-year-old man was arrested yesterday and charged with three counts of intentionally causing a fire and refused bail to appear at Newcastle Local Court today.

Strike Force detectives say they are still continuing their inquiries into the cause of the January fires.

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Cessnock residents asked to clean up their act

BY JARROD MELMETH

A notorious illegal dumping ground on McLeod Road in Loxford has been cleaned up and Cessnock City Council is hoping it stays that way.

Cleaning up the 22.4 hectare site was no easy task and Council worked closely with the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA), Crown Lands and local company Goninan & Sons to get the job done.

The project involved removing 78.6 tonnes of waste, installing fencing around the site and putting in three gates for access to services.

The waste removed from the site included 7.92 tonnes of asbestos, 28 tyres, 12 needles, whitegoods and general household rubbish.

Cessnock City Mayor, Councillor Bob Pynsent said he was disgusted the site got to this point and is calling on the community to clean up their act.

“One of the concerning things in this clean-up was the amount of children’s toys and items such as prams and car seats, indicating families are some of the key offenders.

“If kids are in tow when parents are dumping rubbish in bushland, it sends a message that this is OK, which is highly concerning,”Cr Pynsent said.

In an effort to educate the community and prevent further illegal dumping, Council also distributed a brochure to all residents in Loxford, Kurri Kurri, Clifleigh, Standford Methyr and Weston.
This project was funded by the NSW EPA through the Waste Less Recycle More initiative, funded by the waste levy. 

The dumping site at Loxford.