A 14-year-old boy has been charged with starting a fire in the NSW Hunter Valley.
About 1.15pm (AEDT) on Sunday a fire was spotted near a tennis club on the New England Highway at Rutherford.
Police say several members of the public raised the alarm after seeing a teenage boy running through traffic away from the fire.
The blaze burned through about 200 square metres of vegetation, more than 20 trees and a section of the club's fencing.
A 14-year-old was arrested at his home at 4pm, police say.
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He was charged with intentionally causing fire and being reckless to its spread, and causing or setting fire to the property of another or the Crown.
He was refused bail and was due to appear in the Children's Court on Monday.
