RESIDENTS of a Southampton tower block have demanded action in a police investigation.

Six months after a flat at Redbridge Towers was engulfed in flames and loved ones had to look on with fear as some tenants ran to safety.

Other were forced to shut doors and windows in a bid to escape the inferno back in April.

Now, residents have called for action after the 'horrible experience'.

Tenants also demanded sprinklers for their own safety days after the fire, fearing for their lives, and Southampton City Council have confirmed that it will not be until May next year before every flat is equipped with the potentially life-saving equipment.

The authority said that they would begin fitting them in the next few weeks.

Ron Trivett lives next door to the 12th floor flat that caught fire, and said he was 'amazed' that nothing had happened in the police investigation.

Days after the blaze, officers had arrested a woman on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life as part of their investigation, but she was then later released.

Ron, 60, said: "It was a horrible experience in April, although I've never felt unsafe in my home.

"I'm just amazed, absolutely amazed that nothing has been done.

"There's no way those flames went up that quickly without someone doing it on purpose.

"Why haven't the police done anything, I don't understand it.

"Surely the police need to get more people on the case if they aren't getting anywhere, and what are the council doing?"

Despite an official fire investigation finding the cause of the blaze as 'undetermined', officers launched their own probe following the fire that happened two months before the Grenfell Tower disaster that killed around 80 people.

When quizzed on the length of their investigation, Hampshire Constabulary said there were several stages and that gathering all the evidence could take a long period of time.

A statement from the police said: "Investigations like this can take some while as there are several stages to complete. Our job is to gather all the evidence which in itself can take some time, depending who and what is involved.

"If once we have done this we think it is suitable to go to the next stage, we submit it to the Crown Prosecution Service.

"They will consider the evidence and advise on if a charge has a realistic chance of successful prosecution, what the charge should be and whether it is in the public interest to charge."

In the days after the fire, as reported by the Daily Echo, tenants were demanding sprinkler systems be installed for their own safety.

The council said that they had begin installing sprinklers in unoccupied flats but that the full installation for the building is expected to be May 2018.

A statement from the authority said: "We have been working closely with the Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service, specialist fire safety consultant 3SFire and our specialist installation contractors, on a timetable for installing sprinkler systems.

"We have started installation of a sprinkler system in occupied flats at Redbridge Towers from 16 October with their completion expected in November.

"Full installation of the sprinkler system at Redbridge Towers is expected to be completed by May 2018."

Cabinet member for housing and adult care, cllr Warwick Payne, said the tower block was part of the next set of buildings to receive the potentially life-saving equipment as part of the £12 million project for the city's 20 tower blocks.

Cllr Payne said: "The safety of our tenants is always of paramount importance and must be the first consideration.

"If the police are handling an investigation then the council would always look to cooperate with those and appreciate police must follow due process and explore every angle involved."

Previously this article said that £12 million was the cost of the council's first phase of sprinkler fittings, but this is the cost of all tower blocks.

We apologise for the error.