Young couple's newly bought property ravaged after saving for two years

A young engaged couple are reeling after bushfires ravaged the property they just bought.

Hannah Lillywhite, 30, and her fiancée Mat Weir bought 13 acres at West Bungawalbin in northern NSW three weeks ago. They were living on the land in a caravan before flames ripped through.

The property is about 30km from Rappville which has been ravaged by bushfires destroying dozens of homes in the area. Ms Lillywhite and her partner’s property also suffered the unlucky fate.

“On Tuesday we lost everything in the fires at West Bungawalbin,” she wrote on Facebook.

“We are now looking to buy a caravan in the Northern Rivers area if anyone knows of one so we can have a place to live onsite while we rebuild.”

The 30-year-old added she and Mr Weir managed to escape the blaze with just the dogs and shirts on their backs.

Her car was left a burned out husk, the surrounding forest is now smouldering trees and the caravan the couple were living in has been completely destroyed.

“Today we went back and there was nothing left but the frame of our van and my burnt out car,” she wrote on Wednesday, saying she has been left “devastated.”

She told the ABC owning land was a dream she and Mr Haig had “for a long time”.

Anton Green, Ms Lillywhite’s brother, wrote on a GoFundMe page that the couple had also lost crucial items they both use for work.

“Hannah runs home cheesemaking courses and has lost all of the equipment she needs to earn her living,” Mr Green wrote.

“Mat is a painter and also lost all of his painting tools and equipment.

“They have also lost loads of tools and equipment they have purchased to help them as they clear the block and work towards building a home.”

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It's believed the fire that ripped through Rappville on Tuesday may have been deliberately lit, with NSW Emergency Services Minister David Elliott labelling the potential arson a "bastard act".

NSW Rural Fire Service commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons says in the absence of any other obvious cause the blaze is being treated as suspicious.

"We've got to call it out - it's a heinous crime, a criminal act," he told the Nine Network.

Strikeforce Cleander has been formed to investigate the cause of the fire.

With AAP

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