A COUPLE have been left devastated as the garage they built together has been destroyed by a fire.

Katharine and Graham Bulchin were alerted by their neighbour at about 9am this morning that part of their Old Kennels Lane home was alight.

The fire service were alerted and Katharine said they were on the scene within minutes, where they have remained for most of the day.

She said: “The neighbours were on their way back down from a walk, and we didn’t know it was going on, we were lying in bed.”

The pair sprung into action rescuing bikes, including a Kawasaki, which are Graham’s pride and joy, but heavyweight machinery, such as a milling machine, could not be recovered.

“We are both devastated by it. His possessions are out, including his bikes, I think they are safe.”

The garage was built 10 years ago by the couple, with Katharine recalling that she passed the tiles for the roof up to Graham.

She also said that part of the garage is wooden which she said the fire quickly caught hold off.

The couple have also thanked the fire service for their action in trying to save as much of the structure as possible.

“I am amazed, they have been super active today. It was about nine o’clock [that we called] and they were here in about three minutes,” Katharine said.

Although an official cause of the fire has not been investigated, Katharine believes it may have been the electrics in the property as they have experienced problems of the electricity tripping in the past.

As firefighters tackled the blaze the lane was cordoned off, with drivers stopped from travelling along nearby Old Kennels Close.

It was extinguished using six breathing apparatus’, two hose reels, and three jets.

In total, there were four engines on scene; one from Winchester, one from Eastleigh, one from HQ, and one from Redbridge.

No one was injured as part of the incident.