Arson; Christchurch South Police Station; 6 December 2008

At about 4am on Saturday 6 December an unknown person broke into the new Christchurch South Police Station near the corner of Colombo Street and Strickland Street and started a fire.

The fire burnt un-noticed for some time before a neighbour noticed smoke at about 5.30 am and reported it to the Fire Service.

The building is currently under construction and was due for completion in March 2009.

This is the second fire in 7 days that has been started in the building.

'The fire this morning has caused considerable damage to the much anticipated Police Station,' said Detective Senior Sergeant John Rae. He said, 'Someone has gone to a lot of trouble to light fires in the building to make sure there was a lot of damage done and delay caused to the building project.'

'We are very interested in speaking to anyone who was in the area between 3.45am and 5.30 am this morning. There must have been people around at this time and I am sure someone will have seen something that will prove important to the investigation. Whether there was someone or a vehicle that stood out in the mind of an observer or passerby then we want to hear from them.' said Detective Senior Sergeant Rae.

The examination by both Police and Fire Service personnel will continue tomorrow and investigation which began today will also resume in the morning.

Anyone with information that may assist in identifying the person responsible should contact Detective Senior Sergeant Rae through the Christchurch Central Police Station switchboard (03 363 7400).