Police have charged a Dunedin man with arson almost two years after a suspicious fire torched a house in a tiny Southland town.<\/p>\n
The fire in Waikaia overnight on February 21 last year left an Elswick St home and two vehicles on the property extensively damaged.<\/p>\n
In May this year police said they were making progress and hoped to make an arrest.<\/p>\n
They also released an image of a red BMW convertible similar to one seen speeding from the scene.<\/p>\n
On that same night, the vehicle was also observed travelling towards the Riversdale area, again at speed.<\/p>\n
Detective Sergeant Brian McKinney of Gore CIB said today a 35-year-old had been charged with arson.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He was due to appear in the Gore District Court on December 17.<\/p>\n
“We\u2019d like to thank the members of the public who provided information to police throughout this investigation, to ensure the person responsible can be held accountable.”<\/p>\n
At the time of the blaze\u00a0Waikaia woman Krystal Turnbull told the Otago Daily Times she discovered the fire as she was driving home about midnight.<\/p>\n
As she crossed the bridge on the outskirts of the town she could see a car with its headlights on full coming towards her, she said.<\/p>\n
The driver of the vehicle dipped the lights just before it went past her and shortly afterwards she saw the fire.<\/p>\n
“You could just see the glow in the background and a wee bit of flames shooting up from the back,” Ms Turnbull said.<\/p>\n
The brigade members managed to save a Land Rover in a lean-to beside the garage but there was not much left of the house and garage.<\/p>\n
“The vehicles in the garage were lost.”<\/p>\n
The fact investigators deemed the fire to be suspicious was “doubly sad”.<\/p>\n
“You hate to think somebody has a reason to burn somebody\u2019s house down.”<\/p>\n
– Allied Media<\/p>\n
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