View all in Latest
View all in Local
View all in Politics
View all in Opinion
View all in Business
View all in Lifestyle
View all in Sport
View all in Video
View all in Cartoons
20°C / 22°C
  • Wed
  • 23°C
  • 12°C
  • Thu
  • 24°C
  • 12°C
  • Fri
  • 23°C
  • 13°C
  • Sat
  • 24°C
  • 14°C
  • Sun
  • 27°C
  • 14°C
  • Mon
  • 25°C
  • 14°C
  • Wed
  • 23°C
  • 13°C
  • Thu
  • 26°C
  • 16°C
  • Fri
  • 26°C
  • 17°C
  • Sat
  • 21°C
  • 13°C
  • Sun
  • 19°C
  • 13°C
  • Mon
  • 25°C
  • 14°C
  • Wed
  • 24°C
  • 14°C
  • Thu
  • 26°C
  • 12°C
  • Fri
  • 24°C
  • 15°C
  • Sat
  • 25°C
  • 15°C
  • Sun
  • 29°C
  • 16°C
  • Mon
  • 26°C
  • 15°C
  • Wed
  • 24°C
  • 12°C
  • Thu
  • 24°C
  • 12°C
  • Fri
  • 25°C
  • 13°C
  • Sat
  • 27°C
  • 15°C
  • Sun
  • 28°C
  • 15°C
  • Mon
  • 27°C
  • 13°C
  • Wed
  • 23°C
  • 18°C
  • Thu
  • 22°C
  • 20°C
  • Fri
  • 24°C
  • 19°C
  • Sat
  • 26°C
  • 20°C
  • Sun
  • 23°C
  • 18°C
  • Mon
  • 22°C
  • 18°C
  • Wed
  • 22°C
  • 17°C
  • Thu
  • 22°C
  • 17°C
  • Fri
  • 23°C
  • 17°C
  • Sat
  • 24°C
  • 15°C
  • Sun
  • 19°C
  • 14°C
  • Mon
  • 20°C
  • 14°C
  • Wed
  • 27°C
  • 17°C
  • Thu
  • 31°C
  • 16°C
  • Fri
  • 32°C
  • 17°C
  • Sat
  • 24°C
  • 11°C
  • Sun
  • 19°C
  • 10°C
  • Mon
  • 30°C
  • 9°C
  • Wed
  • 24°C
  • 16°C
  • Thu
  • 27°C
  • 17°C
  • Fri
  • 26°C
  • 17°C
  • Sat
  • 21°C
  • 12°C
  • Sun
  • 16°C
  • 12°C
  • Mon
  • 24°C
  • 12°C
  • Wed
  • 26°C
  • 15°C
  • Thu
  • 29°C
  • 13°C
  • Fri
  • 26°C
  • 16°C
  • Sat
  • 27°C
  • 17°C
  • Sun
  • 30°C
  • 16°C
  • Mon
  • 29°C
  • 17°C
  • Wed
  • 24°C
  • 13°C
  • Thu
  • 26°C
  • 11°C
  • Fri
  • 29°C
  • 15°C
  • Sat
  • 30°C
  • 16°C
  • Sun
  • 27°C
  • 13°C
  • Mon
  • 29°C
  • 9°C
  • Wed
  • 26°C
  • 15°C
  • Thu
  • 26°C
  • 16°C
  • Fri
  • 22°C
  • 15°C
  • Sat
  • 25°C
  • 16°C
  • Sun
  • 32°C
  • 14°C
  • Mon
  • 20°C
  • 14°C
  • Wed
  • 23°C
  • 15°C
  • Thu
  • 24°C
  • 15°C
  • Fri
  • 25°C
  • 16°C
  • Sat
  • 24°C
  • 13°C
  • Sun
  • 20°C
  • 11°C
  • Mon
  • 22°C
  • 10°C
Go

Residents against bail for man accused of starting Overstrand fire

Sheldon April is accused of having set light to dry vegetation in the mountains above Betty’s Bay when he fired a signal flare.

FILE: An aerial view of the fire which is visible from Betty’s Bay side. Picture: @OverbergFPA/Twitter.
FILE: An aerial view of the fire which is visible from Betty’s Bay side. Picture: @OverbergFPA/Twitter.
| 319 days ago

CAPE TOWN - A man accused of having started a devastating fire in the Overstrand will know next week whether or not he will be granted bail.

Sheldon April appeared in the Caledon Magistrates Court on Friday for the continuation of his bail bid.

He’s accused of shooting a signal flare that started the fire in Betty’s Bay on New Year’s Eve.

April is accused of having set light to dry vegetation in the mountains above Betty’s Bay when he fired a signal flare.

This resulted in a devastating wildfire that caused major destruction to dozens of properties and rapidly spread.

The court has heard that because of the blaze, 41 houses were destroyed.

The National Prosecuting Authority says a 71-year-old man is also in an induced coma after he suffered burns and remains in a hospital.

The state adds that the Betty's Bay residents, whose properties were burnt to the ground, are opposed to the accused being released from custody.

The defence has called on the court to grant its client bail, arguing that he won’t interfere with the case and would abide by any bail conditions set out.

Judgement in the bail application is expected on 1 February.

Timeline

More in Local

Comments

EWN welcomes all comments that are constructive, contribute to discussions in a meaningful manner and take stories forward.

However, we will NOT condone the following:

- Racism (including offensive comments based on ethnicity and nationality)
- Sexism
- Homophobia
- Religious intolerance
- Cyber bullying
- Hate speech
- Derogatory language
- Comments inciting violence.

We ask that your comments remain relevant to the articles they appear on and do not include general banter or conversation as this dilutes the effectiveness of the comments section.

We strive to make the EWN community a safe and welcoming space for all.

EWN reserves the right to: 1) remove any comments that do not follow the above guidelines; and, 2) ban users who repeatedly infringe the rules.

Should you find any comments upsetting or offensive you can also flag them and we will assess it against our guidelines.

EWN is constantly reviewing its comments policy in order to create an environment conducive to constructive conversations.

comments powered by Disqus
COPYRIGHT 2019 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED | Terms & Conditions | Privacy | PAIA