A $2bn (£1.5bn) lottery winner has bought more than a dozen plots of land left empty by the Los Angeles wildfires, amid criticism of “disaster capitalism”.  

Edwin Castro spent $10m buying 15 locations in his hometown of Altadena, which is located a short distance from downtown LA, pledging to restore the “old neighbourhood”.

However, residents are concerned about developers snapping up cheap property from families devastated by the fires, while Gavin Newsom, the California governor, has warned of “greedy speculators taking advantage”.

Altadena bore the brunt of the Eaton Fire, one of several massive blazes which broke out in January, which killed 18 people and thousands of homes.