Woman arrested over Parnell fire

A 44-year-old woman has been charged with starting a fire which destroyed an Auckland dry cleaners last week.

Police said that the woman had been charged with arson and would appear in Auckland District Court tomorrow.

A woman was caught on camera apparently throwing petrol at Bentleys Dry Cleaners in suburban Parnell around 5pm on Friday.

Footage filmed by a member of the public and shown on television news on Friday night showed a woman throwing an orange container at the shop, which erupted into flames, and then kicking a nearby car.

A Fire Service spokeswoman said when firefighters arrived, the ground floor housing the 15m by 20m drycleaners was "well involved" with flames.

People were reported to be inside the building and a search by fire crew using breathing gear was done.

The shop was found to be empty and everyone was later accounted for.

The blaze gutted the premises and also destroyed an automatic telling machine.

- NZPA