Firefighters in Sicily accused of starting blazes for cash

Fifteen volunteers held on suspicion of lighting or reporting non-existent wildfires in Italian region in bonus payments scam

Fifteen volunteer firefighters have been arrested in Sicily on suspicion of starting wildfires and reporting non-existent blazes so they could earn a10 (9) an hour for putting them out.

Police in Ragusa province, in the south of the Mediterranean island, said the fire department became suspicious when it emerged that the auxiliary brigade had responded to 120 incidents compared with just 40 tackled by other volunteer teams over the same period.