Teen charged with arson

A 14-year-old youth has been charged with arson after a string of suspicious fires and burglaries in Hastings early yesterday morning.

While he faces one charge, police are still trying to establish if the teenager was involved in other crimes in suburban Mayfair.

The first callout was at 12.40am yesterday, when a caravan on the front lawn of a property in Mayfair Ave was found to be alight.

At 1.30am police were called to an address in Caroline Rd, where a vehicle parked around the back of a property was on fire.

Later in the morning, the occupants of another house in Caroline Rd rang police saying their shed had been broken into and clothes hanging on the washing line had been set on fire.

Police received two more reports of burglaries from properties in Mayfair Ave during the night.

All the properties were within 500m of each other and police believed the crimes were linked, said Detective Wayne Steed, of Hastings police.

The arrested teenager was found at one of the arson scenes. He is due to appear in Hastings District Court tomorrow.

Meanwhile, police are continuing to investigate the crime spree and would like to hear from anyone who saw a young man riding a BMX bike in the Mayfair area between midnight and 2am yesterday.

- NZPA