Shirley Tower block residents' horror following Southampton blaze

Standing outside the Salvation Army rest centre where dozens of residents have spent the past few hours and part of the night after being evacuated neighbours were eager to express their shock over the tragedy.

Kevin Horn, who came home to see the flames spitting out the side of the building, said: "There was no need for them boys to die. It is terrible."

Resident Louise Cherritt was woken up this morning when she was told her and her two young daughters would have to leave their flat on the seventh floor: "We were told to stay in our flat and close all the windows last night. I wasn't scared until I heard the firemen- the scariest thing was hearing them shout 'get some water' and 'we've got burnt hands'".

"We were woken up by a large bang when a policeman told us we had to get out at 5.30 this morning. Now we're just waiting to find out when we can get back in."

Another resident Ashley Le Marechal, 21, said he first found out about the fire when his cousin saw it on the news and text him: "I looked out the window and saw smoke coming out of the flat two floors above me. We were watching the firefighters put it out and after about an hour or hour-and-a-half they told us we had to leave."

Ashley who lives with his mum on the fifth floor said: "It's the biggest thing that's ever happened around here. I can't believe that two of the firefighters have died."

Ashley, said: "Rumours were circulating amongst residents that a ceiling had collapsed and a stairwell had fallen down and this is what caused the deaths of the two firefighters."

Staff from a nearby Sainsbury's store this morning handed over bunches of flowers to firefighters still at the scene to lay them near where their colleagues had bravely tackled the flames.

The store has also opened its restaurant to the fire crews as well as providing goods for residents still in the rest centre at the nearby Salvation Army church in Vincent Road.