Property owners also victims

Two people Paul Somerville never met have also paid a price for his crimes.

Jason and Christina Drain, of Gisborne, owned the property adjoining Somerville's Christchurch house of horrors.

It was destroyed in the fourth arson attack on the Somerville property

"We had insurance to cover the first two fires, and after that, no insurance company would cover us," Mrs Drain told One News last night.

"So at the last fire it wasn't covered."

The family's loss has left Mrs Drain "up and down with emotion", and sometimes crying for up to half a day.

The couple owe $134,000 to the bank, and the loss is placing their home in Gisborne at risk.

"In the worst case, we'll just either have to sell our house to pay the mortgage back or maybe have a huge mortgagee sale," Mr Drain said.

They hope Christchurch City Council will buy the property, at its pre-arson market value.

Though the council has yet to make a decision, if it were to buy back the property - or part of it - it would pay only the value of the land, minus the house.

"If they don't actually purchase it," Mrs Drain said, "then we wish they'd actually said something at the start."