Chifley local area command duty officer Inspector Mark Wall yesterday said police were appealing for public assistance in identifying the culprits.

Inspector Wall said the latest attack occurred just before midnight on Wednesday when someone threw lit sparklers at a parked car.

“It appears they have thrown something at the vehicle and then sped off,” Inspector Wall said.

Wednesday night’s incident follows similar events in Kelso and Bathurst in the past week.

Inspector Wall said an Isuzu truck was destroyed by fire on August 8.

Three cars were also damaged by an arsonist on August 15 between 2.30am and 5am.

“The first one occurred at 2.30am in Kable Close, where a Commodore was destroyed by fire, followed by a Nissan X-Trail in Lambert Street at 3.30am.

“At 5am, a Barina in Willow Drive was also destroyed by fire.”

In the first three incidents, Inspector Wall said the fires were started internally.

“They smashed the window [of the car] and then started the fire,” he said.

However, in the more recent reports, which were on August 18 in Gilmour Street at 9.35pm and again on August 19 at 5.45am in Church Street, the fires were started outside the cars.

Inspector Wall said it was obviously a concern for police, who are now following up a number of lines of inquiry. He urged anyone with information to contact police.

“We’ve also taken a few reports about bin fires, so if anyone sees anything at all we ask them to contact Bathurst Police,” he said.

In Wednesday night’s incident, which occurred in Miriyan Drive, Inspector Wall said police had spoken to a witness who heard the offending car speed off.

“We will be stepping up patrols in the area, but we are also asking the community to contact us immediately if they see anything suspicious,” he said.

“Even if it’s just your car’s fuel has been siphoned or your jerry can is missing, please let us know.”

Anyone with information can contact Bathurst Police directly on 6332 8699 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.