Police are hunting for arsonists who set a caravan on fire with two people still inside in South Australia, in what the victims claim was an attempt on their lives.
Rebecca Thomas and Craig Smith told 9News they had just gone to bed when the flames took hold.
“Me and my wife were laying in bed and just about to drift off to sleep and she noticed flames from the back of the caravan,” Smith said.
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Firefighters rushed to the scene to extinguish the blaze, but the caravan was destroyed.
The couple had been evicted from their home and were living out of the caravan in Gawler, and say there’s been friction in the community due to rubbish piling up.
“The people who did it went running off through the tunnel and yelled, ‘Sucked in, you guys deserved it,'” Thomas said.
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While they managed to escape from the blaze unharmed, they lost everything except the clothes they were wearing and some money.
“Whoever did it aimed to kill us because they reconnected the gas bottle at the back of the caravan,” Smith said.
The couple will stay with a friend before looking to family in Whyalla.
Light Regional Council says it was made aware of the issues including cleanliness, safety and alternative accommodation and promised continued support for the couple.
Police investigations are now underway.
This article was produced with the assistance of 9ExPress.
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