A FORMER Wellington couple have been affected by the wild bushfires in New South Wales, Australia.

Tony and Lillian Knott, who emigrated to Australia in 1979, live in Blaxland, not far from Sydney. However, they have been spending the Christmas period at Callala Bay, about three hours’ drive from Sydney.

On Sunday they were warned by police that they should not travel because of the raging fires.

Tony, 72, and a former Wellington footballer, said: “We have fires every year but it is always late in the summer. But this year the ground is dry and this with the heat is producing fires which are out of control. We desperately need rain.”

The couple have always kept in contact with family and friends in Wellington and try to visit the town every two years.