Police arrest alleged firebugs

Police say a 32-year-old man will face court after allegedly deliberately lighting fires at the base of Anzac Hill overnight.
The man was arrested after a member of the public alerted police to his actions just after 6pm on Wednesday. He allegedly lit several fires near Schwarz Crescent and the Alice Springs Youth Hub which required two fire units to extinguish.
The man was arrested a short time later and he has been charged with setting fire to land or property and causing a bushfire. The latter charge attracts a maximum penalty of 15 years jail under the Criminal Code.
A 32-year-old man is in custody today (Thursday) after police caught him allegedly lighting fires in the Todd River overnight.
As tired fire fighters are looking for some respite after battling major blazes, it is suspected that several small fires around Alice Springs have been deliberatly lit.
Northern Territory Fire and Rescue Service and Bushfires NT say they are working very closely with NT Police to detect and investigate illegal fires “and any individual caught lighting fires under these circumstances will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law”.
They say fines for illegally lighting a fire in contravention of the Fire and Emergency Act have recently been upgraded and as of 1 July 2011, the maximum penalty for illegally lighting a fire is $13,700 or two years imprisonment.