60-year-old Hallett Cove man appears in court charged with starting a bushfire in Clarendon

A man charged with starting a bushfire on Sunday will remain in custody as police analyse his phone for potential links to the devastating Cherry Gardens blaze.

A 60-year-old man charged with intentionally starting a bushfire will remain behind bars as police investigate potential links to other crime scenes.

The Hallett Cove man was arrested by police who spotted him speeding away from a freshly ignited fire on Piggott Range Road in Clarendon about 6pm on Sunday.

That was just a few kilometres away from Cherry Gardens, where a few hours earlier approximately six smaller fires had ignited and merged to form a giant bushfire that has destroyed 2700 hectares and continues to burn.

Police are now analysing the man’s phone, which potentially holds clues to his movements around the area on Sunday. He was allegedly drink-driving in a car with altered number plates.

During a brief hearing in the Christies Beach Magistrates Court on Monday, the Hallett Cove man did not apply for bail.

However, police requested the man’s identity and image be suppressed as investigations into the fire continue.

The Piggott Range Rd fire was just a few kilometres away from Cherry Gardens, where a few hours earlier approximately six smaller fires had ignited and merged to form a giant bushfire that has destroyed 2700 hectares and continues to burn. Picture: Stirling Country Fire Service

Magistrate Susan O’Connor heard that police required eight months to assess DNA evidence as well as analysing fingerprints and toxicology reports.

The prosecutor said the electronic crime branch was analysing the man’s phone to trace his location on Sunday.

A criminal investigation branch detective told the court that Crime Stoppers reports were starting to flood in and it would be important to the identification process to withhold the accused’s name and image for two months.

He also said that the man’s potential links to other crime scenes were being probed by detectives.

Ms O’Connor granted the application, adjourning the man’s case for eight months and scheduling the suppression order for review in two months.

The man was arrested on Sunday evening as he was allegedly leaving the scene of a bushfire in Clarendon.

CFS crews fight the Cherry Gardens bushfire at Tarrara Lane, Bradbury. Picture: Brittany Norris/CFS

The bushfire on Piggott Range Road was reported around 6pm.

The man was seen leaving the scene as police arrived, speeding away in a white Hyundai sedan.

The number plates on the car had been altered and the driver did not stop when police tried to pull him over.

The car stopped a short time later and the driver was breath-tested.

He allegedly returned a blood alcohol reading of .145, almost three times the legal limit.

He was arrested and charged with causing a bushfire, driving unlicensed, aggravated engaging in police pursuit, drink driving, and altering or defacing number plates.

During a town meeting at the Echunga Football Club on Monday, Hills Fleurieu Inspector Gus Sickerdick said the man accused of starting the Clarendon bushfire was being interviewed about the nearby Cherry Gardens fire which destroyed thousands of hectares and scrub and several buildings.

The Clarendon fire was extinguished by locals with only minimal damage caused to the scrubland.