IN the early hours of Friday morning, during a total fire ban, thieves stole Amber Houlihan’s car before dumping and torching it at Windale.
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The 18-year-old had only bought ‘‘Daphne’’ a week ago and was getting up her learner hours as she slaved away at a part-time job and dealt with the stress of completing her HSC.
‘‘I just woke up [on Friday] morning and was like, ‘Where’s the car?’’’ she said.
Ms Houlihan, who lives at Jewells, then received a call from a friend telling her the car had been found and that ‘‘it was not good’’.
As firefighters fought walls of flames and people were evacuated from their homes across the Hunter during the worst bushfire crisis in a decade, Ms Houlihan’s car had been deliberately set alight.
‘‘I know people who lost their homes, it makes me so angry. I can’t even describe the people who would do such a thing.
‘‘I kind of feel violated that they were even in my car,’’ Ms Houlihan said.
‘‘They had torn the seats out, the radiator was gone. It was completely burnt out and unsalvageable.’’
Though most people develop a bond with their first car and collect sentimental stories, Ms Houlihan hardly had a chance to even fill it up with petrol.
But the $900 Daihatsu Charade Centro, paid for with two years of savings, still made an impression.
‘‘It felt so good to drive it for the first time – it was pretty exciting,’’ she said.
‘‘I’ll always remember it.’’
![ANGRY: Amber Houlihan with all that’s left of her car – the key. Picture: Max Mason-Hubers ANGRY: Amber Houlihan with all that’s left of her car – the key. Picture: Max Mason-Hubers](/images/transform/v1/resize/frm/storypad-3ZMaZUzN3dKuM6vrzTJmtN/7ab52df3-a985-4ea4-a905-94424e12358b.jpg/w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
![WRITE-OFF: The burnt-out shell of the Daihatsu Charade Centro, Amber Houlihan’s first car. WRITE-OFF: The burnt-out shell of the Daihatsu Charade Centro, Amber Houlihan’s first car.](/images/transform/v1/resize/frm/storypad-3ZMaZUzN3dKuM6vrzTJmtN/5dfb53ed-7c63-461c-b97f-5935a23432f0.jpg/w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)