A WOMAN was taken to hospital last night after a blaze broke out at her Southampton home.

The woman fled the terraced property in Tennyson Road, Portswood, after the fire started on the ground floor just after 8pm.

Firefighters in breathing apparatus used two hose reels and three jets to extinguish the flames.

The woman was alone in the house when the fire started.

Neighbours said she suffered from breathing problems and limited mobility but managed to get out of the house as the fire took hold.

A neighbour said: "When I went out she was sitting outside.

"We brought her into the house and kept her warm.

"She wasn't physically hurt but was a bit panicky.

"She was in the kitchen or the bathroom when the fire started.

"I didn't see any flames but there was thick black smoke coming out of the back of the house."

A Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service spokesman said: "A woman in her sixties had escaped from the property and was taken to hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation.

"The cause of the fire is being investigated but the incident is not being treated as suspicious."

The incident was dealt with by two crews from St Mary's fire station and one from Hightown.

City crews were also called to two fires that destroyed parked cars - one in Hinkler Road, Thornhill, at 6.30pm and the other in North East Road, Sholing, at 10pm.

Firefighters say both blazes may have been started deliberately.