Arson attack

The beautiful house on the Limavady Road, which was attacked in the early hours of Sunday morning, had been undergoing renovation work since January and was almost finished.

The full cost of the arsonists' work still has to be established, as experts assess the building to see if structural damage has been caused.

A spokesperson for the Fire and Rescue Service said that the fire was started deliberately, and that the blaze was so intense that three fire engines were dispatched, two from the Crescent Link and one from Northlands fire station. Approximately 20 firemen tackled the blaze and it took from 6.42am until 12.10pm before it was under control - almost six hours.

The house will be examined to establish if there is serious structural damage.

A police spokesperson said: "Police in Derry are treating a fire at a house in the Limavady Road area as arson. The fire was reported to police at 6.46am on Saturday, 20 March. The house was extensively damaged."

An emotional Kathleen Colhoun, who has been living with her husband in temporary accomodation since the repair work started, spoke of her anguish: "We are absolutely shattered. We loved our home. We moved in on Christmas Eve in 1965. We have had people of all shapes and sizes come into the house, all friends. We have two boys and a girl. We have so many memories there."

She added: "My husband is an emotional man. He was very emotional when we had to move out when the work was getting done in January, never mind this. We wouldn't have moved out in the first place but we had to have the roof repaired. They said the house was vacant but there were workmen there working everyday, on weekdays and sometimes on Saturdays. We would have went up there on Sundays to check on the place and collect mail and things like that. The house was nearly finished. It was a beautiful new roof, and now it has been destroyed."

Asked what she thought of the arsonists who caused the destruction, Mrs Colhoun said: "One thing I would say is that I am glad that no-one has been killed. There was no-one in the house. I am glad the fools who went in to do it weren't hurt. As a Christian I can say no more."

The family have had an unfortunate history with their property but Mrs Colhoun said this was definitely the worst: "When we had the bakery in Bishop Street (Colhoun's Bakery) we were bombed out during the troubles, as were a lot of people at the time. My husband was a sub post-master in our post-office in Lisnagelvin. He was held up by gunmen.

"We had a restaurant on the first floor in Austins in the Diamond. Every time there was a bomb in the Diamond all the windows were blown out and people would run out with their plates in their hand and we would lose a lot of money. We saw it all. I am not looking for sympathy. We could cope with all those other things, but it is difficult when it is at your front door."

The house itself was a particularly old and beautiful house. Mrs Colhoun said: "It was built in 1836. It must have been the same masons who built the four or five other houses around here. They are all of a similar design, although ours was the smallest. We really love the house. It has been there since the early 1800s. We were nearly ready to move back in. They had to choose now to burn it down."

She has no idea why her house was the target of an arson attack: "I can't understand it. I don't honestly know. We have never had any threats or anything. In our business we always got on well with everybody. Maybe it was for no reason at all."

Police are appealing to anyone who has information in relation to this incident to contact them on 0845 600 8000. Information about crime can also be passed anonymously to the Crimestoppers charity on 0800 555 111.