POLICE are investigating after three people allegedly took a Country Fire Authority tanker from the Lake Charlegrark Country Music Marathon, in western Victoria, on Saturday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The tanker belonging to the Minimay brigade was reported stolen about 7pm.
It was later recovered without damage.
Police arrested a Heywood man, 25, at the scene. He recorded a blood alcohol concentration of 0.109.
Police expect to charge him with theft of the tanker, exceeding a 0.05 blood alcohol limit, and interfering with authority equipment.
Police will interview the two other males allegedly involved.
The authority’s district 17 operations officer Craig Brittain said the incident was incredibly disappointing.
“A lot of Minimay members were working at the event, and because we had a second tanker available to the brigade, they were going to have it at the event to cover for emergencies,” he said.
“We quite often do that.
“For whatever reason, three young people decided they would borrow the appliance and take it for a spin around the event.
“In a country area like this, most times we are a pretty trusting mob.
“We’ll be reviewing our procedures in regards to why the keys were left in the truck.
“I’m not sure where they were, but they were obviously easily found by the people.
“We won't stop supporting the community or having appliances at events, but we'll review our policies.”