SEVEN pets were killed as a fire gutted a Southampton home.

Two crews from St Mary’s and one from Redbridge fire station were called to Malmesbury Road at 8.50pm as a blaze ripped through the ground floor of a terrace house.

Firefighters battled the blaze for just over an hour.

However, a Hampshire Fire and Rescue spokesman confirmed four cats and three dogs died in the blaze.

Residents described seeing popping glass as the house was ablaze.

Fahad Saeed lives nearby, and thought it was somebody playing with his recycling.

Fahad, 39, said: “It was 8.30pm last night and I heard glass moving. I looked at the front and glass was popping from their house so I phoned the fire brigade.

“I think it’s a family of three but they got out okay.”

Another resident, who did not want to be identified, said she used to see the pets at the window opposite.

She said: “The fire was so sudden and the emergency services incredibly quick. There were three fire engines all of a sudden, then the police showed up.”

The cause of the blaze is not yet known but the a fire service spokesperson said the fire started in the kitchen area. An investigation will now be carried out.