Camera captures very large man hooded man hiding from police minutes before suspicious Geelong West blaze

A towering hooded man has been caught on camera creeping through a Geelong home moments before a nearby property went up in flames. SEE THE FOOTAGE

Minutes before a suspicious house fire ripped through a Geelong West home, a very large figure was captured on camera dodging police just up the road.

Mother of two Avril Leishman had to run for her life on Sunday night as her Clarence St home was engulfed by flames. On the same night, just a few doors away, the apparent giant’s suspect skulking was captured on CCTV.

The large man was wearing a white hoodie and gardening gloves as he walked into the property.

The owner of the home, Daniel, who wished to have his last name omitted, told the Geelong Advertiser he was on holiday in Europe at the time and was alerted by his security system.

“It was so scary,” Daniel said of the image of the tall figure stalking his home.

“He must have been well over six feet,” he said.

The mystery “giant” captured on camera moments before a suspicious house fire at a nearby Geelong West home. Photo: Supplied

The large figure stalked around the property late on Sunday night. Photo: Supplied

Just after 9.20pm, the man was captured picking up one of several small cameras strategically placed out the front of the house.

“Then he throws the camera across the backyard,” Daniel said.

Fearing his unattended home was about to be broken into, he called family and friends in Australia so they could get in contact with police.

It is understood when officers arrived, they searched the home for several minutes but were unable to find the mystery man.

An hour later at 10.20pm, the man reappears, emerging from the backyard and walking out the front gate as the sound of alarms blare in the background.

This time there was a clearer image of the mustachioed man, with Daniel noting the man’s considerable size beside the home’s high walls and front gate.

Fire gutted the front of Avril Leishman’s home along Clarence St in Geelong West. Picture: Brad Fleet

Minutes later, at 10.30pm, 50-year-old Ms Leishman’s home was on fire.

After being informed of the blaze, Daniel said he shared photos of the man to social media, adding he wanted to let people know what had happened.

A Victoria Police spokesperson said police had attended the scene and were unable to find the offender.

“The owner was overseas and an alarm system alerted them, a friend then attended with police and it appeared no entry had been gained,” the spokesperson said.

The added that it was “too early to speculate” on whether the man had any connection to the house fire, but maintained the investigation into the suspicious blaze was ongoing.

Originally published as Camera captures very large man hooded man hiding from police minutes before suspicious Geelong West blaze