HOT PROPERTY: Police are warning people who have stolen items from the Fat Lamb Hotel at Eugowra, they will be prosecuted.
THIEVES who have stolen items including signage and bricks from the burnt-out Fat Lamb Hotel at Eugowra are being warned by police they will be prosecuted.
“This is stealing and it is a criminal offence,” said Canobolas Local Area Command crime manager Inspector Denise Godden.
She said the people responsible for stealing items from the site have trespassed on to the property which has been secured so an investigation can be carried out.
“There is a fence around the place as well,” she said.
The iconic hotel was engulfed in fire around 5.30am on Monday morning.
The licensee of the hotel has launched a public appeal on social media asking Facebook users to urge people to stay away from the site of the burnt-out hotel.
The Fat Lamb is owned by Sydney-based Paul McGirr who owns a number of other hotels in the state.
The fire was discovered by a supermarket owner who was opening up his shop around 5.30am on Monday morning when he notice flames issuing from the building.
The Eugowra State Emergency Service and Rural Fire Service volunteers were quickly on the scene, however the hotel could not be saved.
Detectives from the Canobolas Local Area Command, police forensic investigators and NSW Fire Brigade investigators spent the day at the site of the fire on Tuesday, sifting through rubble to determine the cause of the fire.
Anyone with information about the fire or items stolen from the site can call Orange police on 6363 6399 or Crimestoppers on 1800 333 000 and people can remain anonymous.
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