South Coast Police are investigating after a van was set on fire in Eden this morning.
Emergency Services were called to Nethercote Road Road near Freshwater Creek around 7:15am on Friday (September 8) to extinguish the blaze at the back of the all new Gravity Eden Mountain Bike Trails, which officially open later today as part of the Quad Crown Series.
The Rural Fire Service confimed it started a small grass fire but that and the van was extinguished by around 7:50am by four local RFS fire fighters.
Kids were reportedly spotted in the area not long after the car fire was called in.
It’s been confirmed the cause of the fire was suspicious and police are on the scene and investigating.
If it was a deliberate act, it’s not the first incident involving the new trails with young local motorcyclists reportedly tearing up part of the new mountain bike tracks in recent months.
A few motorcyclists from the area took the liberty to do burnouts on the unused trails back in June, damaging part of the track which took half a day for work crews to repair.
President of the Eden Mountain Bike Club, Stan Soroka, told East Coast Radio at the time he would have liked to have seen a bit more respect shown for something that’s going to be a major boost for the Eden community and economy.
Anyone with any information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
A HIGH Fire Danger Rating is in place across the Far South Coast today with residents asked to be ready to act. A Total Fire Ban is in place.
After being delayed due to the pandemic, the Quad Crown Mountain Bike Series is finally coming to the Sapphire Coast.
Today, Saturday and Sunday will see 150 riders converge on Tathra and the all new Gravity Eden Mountain Bike Trails for ‘The Orca’ which is the third leg of the Quad Crown Series.
Course Director for QUAD CROWN, Liam McGuire, said the Prelude in Eden gets underway from 3pm.
“We head to Eden today which is really exciting for the riders to be the very first on the all-new Gravity Eden trails,” McGuire said.
“Then we head to Tathra on Saturday and back to Eden on Sunday.”
Registrations for the event open at the Eden Sports and Recreation Club from 1pm today with the prelude taking place at Gravity Eden from 3pm and a welcome dinner at the Hotel Australasia from 5pm.
Images: NSW Police, Gravity Eden, Quad Crown Series
