news, local-news

A CIRCUS family is distraught after their truck was torched and a police mix-up meant no forensic evidence was taken. Ruth and Paul Stanton were camping with their teenage son Stephen and performing dogs and chickens at the Walbundrie showground when, at midnight, a blaze destroyed the cabin of their truck. It wasn’t until almost five days later that a forensic team arrived, too late to gather key forensic samples. Insp David Cottee, of Albury police, is investigating why the officer who visited the morning after the fire did not request forensic testing. “I’ve apologised to (the family) for that,” he said. The Stantons, who run the travelling show Circus Ringbarkus, say they don’t know why they would be targeted by an arsonist but did notice a car near their campsite. On the night of the blaze, Stephen, 14, said he was woken by headlights shining into the caravan and ran out to see the truck on fire. Albury police didn’t come out that night because of the dark and because Walbundrie was too far away. Mrs Stanton said the officer who came late Friday morning said forensics would be sent later that day, but no one turned up until 3pm the following Tuesday. Police are investigating why forensics weren’t sent to the scene on the Friday. Insp Cottee said the forensics team eventually asked to attend on Monday, but were called to a major incident on the Hume Freeway. He said any forensic samples taken on Tuesday “wouldn’t be of any value”. The Stanton family have been on the road for almost 15 years, and without their truck have no way to move their circus or earn the $8000 or $9000 needed to repair it. Mrs Stanton says, since the fire, they’ve worried about their safety, but have no way of leaving town. “We can’t afford to leave, we don’t even have the finances to leave town, we’re just stuck at the moment,” Mrs Stanton said. “It’s terrifying to be here ... we can’t sleep at night, we have to take it in turns sleep- ing in the day so we can stay up at night and keep watch.” Without insurance on their truck, this situation is unlikely to change soon.

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