Police plea over 17 fires in 24 hours

POLICE yesterday issued a desperate plea to parents and teens to put an end to the out-of-control bonfire phenomenon following 17 fires in 24 hours.

In one of the incidents two 16-year-old boys suffered severe burns when a gasoline container exploded near the fire they lit in the early hours of yesterday

The youths were guarding the lambradja or Easter bonfire, in the Ayios Pavlos church courtyard when they lit a fire in a barrel so they could keep warm.

Under circumstances that are being investigated a gasoline container exploded.

The two teens suffered burns on the face and hands, and were taken to Nicosia General Hospital, where they were kept for treatment.

The police and the fire services have been on high alert in an effort to control the escalating risk as churchyard lambradjas are getting bigger and bigger.

The lambradja is a traditional bonfire on which a figure of Judas is burned at Easter.

In a second lambradja-related incident, a group of youths clashed with police officers yesterday afternoon outside the Ayios Charalambos Church in Yeri when officers tried to confiscate the wood from their lambradja.

The youths reacted and set fire to the lambradja. The fire department rushed to the scene and the youths went on a rampage throwing anything they found in their way into the fire. This mainly consisted of the Easter decorations from the church courtyard. The police managed to arrest two youths.

Police said in a statement yesterday that in the previous 24 hours 17 fires had been set in Limassol, Larnaca and Nicosia in addition to a number of other incidents involving youths stealing wood and throwing firecrackers at people’s homes.

Four fires had been set at rubbish dumps, they said as well as piles of old tyres in other places.

“We call on parents and young people to help stop this sad state of affairs and to recognise the dangers involved,” the police statement said.

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