Boy, 14, is arrested after allegedly starting a fire that threatened to engulf a school in Sydney – as it is revealed his own MUM dobbed him to police
- A teenager in Sydney has been arrested for allegedly starting a bushfire
- The fire quickly spread and threatened kids at a nearby school in Castle Hill
- Other youngsters desperately tried to put out the blaze before fire crews arrived
- He was later taken to a police station by his own mum where he was arrested
A teenage boy was taken to a police station by his own mum after allegedly starting a bushfire on a reserve near Sydney.
The 14-year-old boy was arrested after police claimed he lit the blaze near a school in Castle Hill in Sydney’s north-west.
A group of teenagers are understood to have desperately tried to douse the fire with water, before a team from NSW Fire and Rescue arrived to put it out.
The fire threatened the nearby Samuel Gilbert Public School, where dozens of children were attending an after-school club.
The blaze broke out in a bush reserve in Castle Hill (pictured) just yards from a local school where kids where enjoying an after-hours club
A police spokesman said: ‘A teenager has been arrested following a fire at a bush reserve in Sydney’s north-west yesterday.
‘About 4:20pm (Friday 31 January 2020) emergency services responded to reports of a fire in bushland on Excalibur Avenue, Castle Hill.
‘A group of young people attempted to douse the flames before NSW Fire and Rescue attended and extinguished the blaze. Officers attached to The Hills Police Area Command attended and commenced inquiries.
‘Later that afternoon, a 14-year-old boy was arrested after attending Castle Hill Police Station accompanied by his mother. The teen will be dealt with under the Young Offenders Act. Inquiries continue.’
The teenager was taken to Castle Hill police station (pictured) by his mother, where he was arrested by police
Political rows have broken out about the cause of Australia’s deadly bushfire season, with some saying that cases of arson are more responsible than climate change.
Earlier this month, Liberal MP Craig Kelly claimed that ‘arson is not caused by climate change’.
The MP, who is known for his climate change skepticism, put forward his opinion on why the country is gripped in a fire emergency during an appearance on ABC’s RN Breakfast show.
‘Unprecedented’ numbers of people had been arrested and charged with arson offences, he claimed. ‘The arson is not caused by climate change.’
It comes as blisteringly hot conditions on Saturday threaten to make bushfires worse across New South Wales (pictured)
Some politicians and commentators have seized on cases of arson to argue that the impact of climate change has been overstated.
Backbencher Mr Kelly sparked a row on UK television after claiming there was ‘no link’ between climate change and the fires in an interview on Good Morning Britain.
He told host Piers Morgan and Laura Tobin: ‘What causes the main thing of the fires is the build up of the fuel on the ground and the drought.’
During the interview Mr Kelly also defended Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s decision to holiday in Hawaii amid the crisis.
Miss Tobin hit back at Mr Kelly, branding him a ‘climate denier’.
She told him: ‘We want everyone in the world to lower the global temperature rise by 1.5C, you [Australia] can’t even commit to 2C.
‘You have the second highest carbon emission on earth and you are burying your head in the sand.
‘You’re not a climate sceptic – you’re a climate denier.’
Following the interview, Mr Kelly caused outrage by calling meteorologist Laura Tobin an ‘ignorant Pommy weather girl’ on Twitter. He later told ABC News that Tobin ‘had no idea what she was talking about.’