A man and woman have denied deliberately starting fires in Tasman, at a time when the major Pigeon Valley forest fire was still burning nearby.
Benjamin Phillip Durrant and a 24-year-old female are jointly accused of arson over a fire in Pigeon Valley on March 6, a crime that carries
a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison.
Durrant, 34, has also been charged with arson over a second fire in Upper Moutere, which flared up a week earlier, causing the evacuation of nearly 100 properties and leaving a hillside scorched.
Durrant appeared via video link today at the Nelson District Court and pleaded not guilty to both charges and elected for a trial by jury.
The woman, who has ongoing name suppression, earlier entered a not guilty plea by written notice.
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