A family of Good Samaritans who gave a woman a place to sleep after her house burnt to the ground have had their generosity thrown back at them.
The Wairarapa family allege the woman they helped then set their house on fire while they slept, burning it to the ground.
It all started on Wednesday night when Chance Stevenson-Oliver, 20, ran, with her parents down the road to a neighbour's house that was up in flames.
Ms Stevenson-Oliver says they found a woman standing outside, utterly distraught.
"Never met her before, never seen her and mum offered her a place to stay because she had nobody. So we gave her food and drink and stuff and then set her up in the sleep out."
But early the next morning they woke to the woman running out their front door, leaving their home of 26 years engulfed in flames, destroying nearly all of their belongings.
Ms Stevenson-Oliver says she's still in disbelief.
"As bad as it is, you'd think she'd burnt someone else's house down. You can't understand it just [because] we helped her out and then she, well, she tried to kill us."
She says they were lucky to get out alive, especially as her father Bruce has a broken back and was forced to jump a fence.
"If we weren't up we probably would have died."
But luckily for the family, the small Mauriceville community has banded together in support, with people they say they hardly know providing them with food, money and toiletries.
Police later arrested the 50-year-old, who was found hiding behind the local school - where scorch marks have reportedly also been found.
She's been charged with intentionally damaging a property knowing that danger to life was likely, and will appear in the Masterton District Court on May 16.
Newshub.
