A FIRE which ripped through a block of flats in Southampton was started as the result of an electrical fault, Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service has confirmed.

The blaze that broke out in the early hours of yesterday at York Close in Northam led to 11 people needing treatment by paramedics and another casualty taken to Southampton General Hospital for smoke inhalation.

In all five flats were damaged as a result of the fire, leaving six adults and two children in need of temporary accommodation whilst Southampton City Council repair the property which is owned by the authority.

As previously reported all the residents of the block were evacuated at around 2am after the fire broke out on the top floor.

An investigation was immediately launched into the cause which the fire service has confirmed was non-suspicious and thought to have been the result of an electrical fault.