A man accused of trying to start fires at Beresfield on Saturday has been referred for a mental health assessment.
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Wayne Keith Murrary, 43, appeared disorientated as he sat holding his head in his hands when he appeared via videolink in Newcastle bail court on Sunday.
Emergency services were called to grassland near Weakleys Drive, Beresfield, following reports of four fires at 11.40am on Saturday.
Fire and Rescue NSW extinguished the blazes. No one was injured.
District established a crime scene and commenced an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident.
Port Stephens-Hunter Police arrested Mr Murrary nearby on John Renshaw Drive a short time later.
He was taken to Maitland Police Station and was charged with four counts of intentionally cause fire and be reckless as to its spread.
He has not entered pleas to the charges.
He also failed to report to Marurboura police station on an unrelated matter on Friday.
The court heard that Mr Murrary, who injured his feet, was suffering from acute mental health issues.
Registrar Fiona Cotton agreed to a defence request for Mr Murrary to be taken to a mental health facility for assessment.
He will return to court on a later date.
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