‘A good man’: Neighbours praise unsung hero who discovered suspected terror caravan

An unassuming Dural resident has been spotted going about his business after he was credited with averting a potential mass-casualty event by securing the van and immediately handing it over to police.

A grandfather and businessman who discovered a suspected “terror caravan” on the side of the road in Sydney’s northwest is a humble man who “just did the right thing”, neighbours say.

The unassuming Dural resident, who The Daily Telegraph agreed to name only as John, was spotted going about his business on Monday after being credited with averting a potential mass-casualty event by securing the van and immediately handing it over to police.

The caravan, which police said was laden with explosives and anti-Semitic slurs, was left on the side of Derriwong Rd in early December.

Those responsible for leaving it there, as well as its intended purpose, are now the subject of a counter-terrorism investigation by Australian Federal Police and NSW Police officers.

Residents in the affluent suburb said John, who owns and operates a mobile coffee van in the area, was a quietly-spoken man who has several chihuahuas.

John towed the caravan containing explosives for an alleged anti-Semitic bomb plot, onto his property before alerting the police. Picture: Ted Lamb

“He’s a good man who just did the right thing,” a neighbour Kathryn said.

“I’m not sure he’d be loving his sudden fame.”

On a Hills District social media page, locals praised John’s actions.

But on Sunday, John told this publication he wasn’t a hero.

“I wouldn’t say I’m a national hero or anything like that,” John said.

“I would say it’s just a very good thing it ended up in my hands and not the wrong hands.”

Police said the van was first spotted on the roadside around December 7.

The property at Dural in Sydney’s North West where the caravan containing explosives was relocated to before the discovery. Photo Jeremy Piper

Neighbours recalled the white-coloured pop-up camper sat there for a few days before John assumed it had been discarded and towed it to his nearby property.

The caravan then sat idle and unopened on John’s property for several weeks, during the Christmas and new year period, until he used bolt cutters to access it for the first time on January 19.

No one has been charged in connection with the caravan, but police said three people had been charged with matters on the “periphery” of the suspected terror investigation.