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The man who allegedly attacked and bound an elderly woman before setting her house on fire was caught at a nearby property by a martial arts expert who had just returned home from karate.
The 83-year-old widow was last night in a serious but stable condition in Middlemore Hospital after being found in her burning home in the Manukau City suburb of Howick on Monday night.
Firefighters, who had been called after neighbours saw smoke billowing from the kitchen window, found the woman tied up in the garage.
She was believed to have been unconscious and lying face down, with her arms and legs bound behind her.
It is still not clear how her attacker got into her Bleakhouse Rd home.
Nearly two hours after the house was set alight, a man was caught at a house 500m away in another street.
The homeowner, who wanted to be known only as Brett, said the man turned up at his home asking for a taxi to be called about 7.45pm.
Brett's teenage son answered the door and called a taxi.
The European man, who had tattoos and a "weathered exterior", appeared to have been drinking and under the influence of some sort of substance. He waited at the front of the house for the taxi.
About 45 minutes later Brett's wife, who had been sleeping on the couch, heard swearing and banging coming from downstairs and realised the man had broken into the house.
"He kicked the panels in the door," said Brett. "She quickly told [her son] to lock the security door between the basement and the house."
At the same time Brett arrived home to see a person in the garage.
"As I opened the [car] door I heard my wife yelling out my name and she sounded quite upset," he said. "I raced around to where she was. She's yelling that somebody is in the house."
Brett ran back to the garage and stood between the door and the laundry/toilet area where the man hid.
"I stayed there for a minute or so yelling out, 'Why are you here, what are you doing?' ... I said, 'I know where you are, you might as well come out because I'm not going to hurt you'.
"I think he might have been intimidated by the fact I was standing there in my karate gear."
The man did come out of the toilet but produced a knife, which Brett took from him and threw away.
While they waited for the police the man "changed in demeanour several times".
"At one time he decided he was going to make a beeline for his bag because he wanted something from out of it. I said 'no' and when he proceeded I took him down to the ground and just controlled him."
The man went through a range of emotions from being subdued to yelling and saying he needed Prozac before saying he needed to use the bathroom for a second time.
Brett let him but the man took the chance to smash a window and escape.
Brett said he ran around the house, jumped the fence and caught the man in the neighbour's property.
"I didn't want to let him get away so as he staggered through the bushes I grabbed hold of him and took him down to the ground and restrained him until police arrived."
By this stage the man was bleeding heavily after cutting his head and hands when breaking the bathroom window. Brett and his wife wrapped the cuts to stem the bleeding until help arrived.
Brett told the Herald last night that he did not consider himself a hero and was not looking for recognition.
"I was just glad it occurred in my house and not perhaps another person's who might not have had the ability to react in such a way."
Detective Sergeant Shaun Vickers said police did not seek anyone else in connection with the two incidents.
A 43-year-old was charged yesterday and faces charges including arson, threatening to kill, aggravated burglary and common assault.
He was remanded in custody after a bedside hearing and last night was under guard in Middlemore Hospital.
