An alleged firebug behind three suspicious fires in the Canterbury township of Darfield was caught after farmers, volunteer firefighters and police trapped him with a coordinated pincer movement.
A barn was severely damaged, a tree line was set alight, and a tractor suffered significant damage during the three blazes on McLauglins Road at the weekend.
Local farmers and volunteer firefighters helped police establish cordons, provided local knowledge and sightings of a suspect, which helped with the search, police said today.
One of the volunteer firefighters offered to fly his helicopter over the area to help locate the suspect, who was found around three hours later within the cordon boundary.
A 24-year old local man has been charged with two counts of arson and one of wilful damage. He will appear in Christchurch District Court next month.
