A man used his cellphone camera to take a photo of people at the scene of the alleged arson of a 4WD vehicle near Te Puke.

Three men have been arrested and charged in connection with the alleged arson and burglary of a west Auckland discount store gutted in a fire early today.

At least one man is "helping police with inquiries" after a suspicious blaze gutted a West Auckland discount shop overnight.

AMI Insurance has been ordered to pay for damage to a leaky building in the Auckland suburb of Epsom that was deliberately set alight.

Brad Chapman said he would never forgive Tonya Bennett for setting fire to his Pukekohe home knowing his mother was asleep upstairs.

A teenager who admitted murdering a mother-of-three by setting her house alight was today jailed for a minimum of 11 and a half years.

A 28-year-old North Shore man has appeared in court over the murder of Jacqueline Blackbourn in a house fire last month.

Police investigating the murder of a dairy farmer in his driveway are looking into an unsolved arson at the property two years ago.

A bar owner reportedly doused in petrol before he escaped his burning hotel had previous run-ins with gang members, locals say.

A man was doused in petrol but managed to crawl to safety as his hotel burned to the ground after a robbery this morning.