NSW bushfires: Police allege teen on ice looted evacuated Batlow home

An alleged teenage thief was high on drugs when he looted an evacuated home in the state’s south west facing a bushfire catastrophe before crashing the resident’s car into a tree.

An alleged teenage thief was high on drugs when he looted an evacuated home in the state’s south west facing a bushfire catastrophe before crashing the resident’s car into a tree.

Unlicensed driver Jordan Thomas Crampton faced Wagga Wagga Local Court on Saturday after he was hospitalised from the smash in Batlow on Thursday.

The 19-year-old Tumut man’s bail was revoked when he appeared from the cells via video link, looking dishevelled with messy hair and a goatee.

Police prosecutor Sergeant Priscilla Jones said Crampton admitted to using ice when police caught him with the drug paraphernalia.

Registrar Cindy Brereton found he’d breached reporting conditions which included a ban on drugs and alcohol along with a curfew.

Batlow locals and tourists in the iconic Kosciuszko National Park were given a 10am Friday deadline to escape the area.

Crampton, who has allegedly never held a license, was swerving the stolen Ford Falcon sedan erratically and refused to pull over for officers before the accident, Ms Jones told the court.

A police chase had to be called off due to safety concerns, they said.

Officers found jewellery, documents and ammunition inside a backpack in the car which they claim were taken from a rural property on Old Tumbarumba Road.

“The man entered the home after the residents had left the property due to bushfires,” police allege.

Crampton was placed under police guard at Wagga Wagga Base Hospital and charged on Friday night with nine offences.

These include break and enter, stealing a car, dangerous driving while unlicensed, possessing ammunition without a permit and self-administering drugs.

Crampton did not apply for bail and will next face Young Local Court in February.

Batlow locals and tourists in the iconic Kosciuszko National Park were given a 10am Friday deadline to escape the area before the 130,000-hectare Dunns Road fire is expected to hit on Saturday.

The entire 1,300-person town known as Australia’s apple capital was ordered to leave urgently on Thursday night after fire crews said they couldn’t defend it against the approaching inferno.

The impending threat also sparked the evacuation of the nearby Mannus prison.

The temperature in the Snowy Mountains is expected to top 40C on Saturday and the largest fire spread is expected in this region with potential ember attacks from the Snowy River to Tumut and Borambola to Adaminaby.

Hundreds of people have taken refuge at an evacuation centre in Wagga Wagga that has been overwhelmed by donations with food and other supplies flooding in.

The nearby Wagga Showgrounds is also hosting people taking shelter with their dogs, cats, horses, poultry or “small mobs of sheep”, which is operated by the Department of Primary Industries.

While bushfire victims may bring their own swags to sleep near their livestock, they must provide their own fodder, Wagga Council said.

A raft of local vets, kennels and stables have also offered to care for pets and animals.

It comes amid a two-day statewide total fire ban and a week-long state of emergency marred by deaths and a mass exodus of thousands of people from Batemans Bay to the Victorian border.

Originally published as NSW bushfires: Police allege teen on ice looted evacuated Batlow home