A WOMAN is being hunted after a fire broke out in a Southampton property.

Police and fire crews have launched an investigation and are now looking for a woman who “ran away” after a blaze ripped through two semi-detached houses in Poole Road on Monday morning.

It is understood that nobody was in the building when the fire broke out but residents told the Daily Echo that a woman was seen “running away” from one of the houses.

A local resident who does not wish to be named said: “There was definitively a lady in the house but she ran away. Everyone asked her if she was OK or if anyone was in the houses but she didn’t answer and run away and disappeared.”

A Hampshire Police spokesperson said: “A woman was reported as running away from the address when the fire started and we are making enquiries to locate her.”

Firefighters were called shortly after 4am and crews form St Mary’s, Hightown and Eastleigh rushed to the scene.

It is understood that the fire started in a bedroom on the first floor of one of the houses and ripped through the roof which has been left severely damaged.

Firefighters at the scene initially said they suspected the blaze was due to an electrical fault.

However, officers, firefighters and the crime investigation team carried out further investigations throughout the day and scoured the properties. A Hampshire Police spokesperson said police are working with Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service to determine the cause of the fire.

Local resident Bryan Girling, 60, retired, from Woolston, was the first who saw flames sweeping through the roof and called the emergency services.

He said: “We could hear breaking glasses and the windows were melting down. We started banging on the door to raise the alarm. We thought there was someone in the bedroom.

“The back door was open but the fire was out of control. Thick, black smoke was coming down the stairs and we decided not to go upstairs, the fire was too severe. We waited for the fire brigade to turn out.”

Police urged anyone with any information to call 101 and quote reference number 44170263735.