Man sets fire to house as father and daughter sleep inside in 'brazen' attack

A man has told how he and his daughter could have died when a stranger set fire to their home while they were sleeping inside.

The 52-year-old, who does not want to be identified, said the terrifying incident destroyed walls of the house and has been the second arson attack at his home in 10 months.

An unknown man was caught on CCTV setting fire to weatherboards on the father's home on Holdsworth Road in Long Gully, Bendigo at about 1am on Friday July 22.

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Detective Senior Constable Ashley Sutton said police believed the man had used a cigarette lighter, and had tried twice to ignite the weatherboards before starting the fire.

The flames were started right outside the bedroom where the victim's 16-year-old daughter was sleeping.

The teenager was woken as her room was filled with smoke and alerted her father, who was sleeping in another part of the house.

The man said that his "petrified" daughter saved his life.

"If she hadn't have woken up I probably wouldn't be here now," he said.

"We could have been dead."

He said the incident had been "very frightening", with him tasting smoke before he realised what was happening.

Firefighters attended the scene and extinguished a small fire.

The man said his shed had been burnt down in October, destroying hundreds of antiques he was storing inside it, and prompting him to get CCTV.

He said he had no clue why his home was being targeted.

"I hardly know anyone so I've got no idea at all," he said.

"Whether it's mistaken identity, we don't know. It's just really upsetting."

The man said his home had been left with thousands of dollars in damage.

He had just renovated his daughter's bedroom, which now has holes in the walls.

Detective Senior Ashley Sutton said the "the sheer brazenness" of the attack was very worrying.

"For the offender to overtly walk up to the front of the house and light it on fire, it's a concern for us, it's a concern for the greater Bendigo community.

"We're just so lucky that this didn't end in a tragedy."

Police have released the CCTV footage of of a man they are looking for over the arson attack.

He is described as having a medium build and was wearing a hoodie and work boots.

Any witnesses or anyone with CCTV is urged to contact police.