A Far North man has appeared in court charged with burning down a house and setting fire to another after an alleged domestic dispute.
The 37-year-old, whose name was suppressed, appeared in the Kaitaia District Court on Tuesday in relation to two house fires on the Karikari Peninsula in theearly hours of Sunday.
He was charged with two counts each of arson and assaulting a female, assaulting a child, and four counts of assault with a weapon. The weapons allegedly used were a guitar, a washboard and bottles. He was remanded in custody without plea until November 1.
The man was arrested just hours after the Karikari Rural Fire Party, later backed up by crews from Kaitaia, saved one house but could not save the other house further down the road.
Detective Sergeant Trevor Beatson, of Kaitaia police, said the Housing New Zealand home was gutted: "The outer walls are still standing but the interior structure has gone."
Mr Beatson said the two fires were related to one domestic incident. The arrested man had allegedly set fire to the house he was renting after the three assault victims fled, then broke into another home nearby where he allegedly set fire to material on top of the stove. In that case no major damage was caused.
Police went door-to-door on Sunday looking for witnesses while detectives and fire investigators combed through the ashes of the house for evidence.
