Charges over bushfire that damaged church

A man has been charged with starting a bushfire that caused about $100,000 worth of damage to a church in Perth's south.

Police allege the first fire was deliberately lit in bushland beside St Bernadette's Catholic Church in Port Kennedy about 4.30pm on December 28, followed by a second fire a short time later in nearby bushland.

A 24-year-old man has been charged with possessing a prohibited drug, possessing drug paraphernalia, possessing stolen or unlawfully obtained property, and two counts of wilfully lit fire likely to injure or damage.