A MAN has been rescued from a fire which "completely destroyed" a building.

Neighbours have described how a man was left burned and distressed following a fire in Portswood Avenue at around 8pm last night.

Emergency services wrapped the 46-year-old man in shock blankets after a blaze engulfed an outbuilding, according to witnesses.

He was rushed to Southampton General Hospital to be treated for serious but not life-threatening injuries.

Portswood Avenue resident Dhaveena Rajathevan, 21, told the Daily Echo at the scene: "The emergency services wrapped the man up and sat him down.

Daily Echo:

"He looked in distress. He had a t-shirt on which was burned at the front...and he had soot all over his face.

"There was a massive cloud of smoke going all down the road.

"I called 999

"The police blocked off both ends of the road.

"All the street lights in the street went off and our water went brown. We do not know how it started. The power came back at around 1am."

A fire investigation unit has been on the scene for most of the morning probing the cause of the blaze.

Daily Echo:

Last night, crews from St Mary's and Eastleigh Fire Stations were on the scene to tackle the fire.

Meanwhile, Portswood Road was closed at its junction with Portswood Avenue and police attended the incident.

Daily Echo:

A police spokesperson said: "We were called at 7.59pm yesterday (June 17) to reports of a fire at premises on Portswood Avenue, Southampton. Police attended to assist with a road closure to allow HFRS to get the fire under control.

"A 46-year-old man from Southampton was injured in the fire and taken to Southampton General Hospital for treatment. His injuries are serious but not life-threatening.

"A fire investigation officer will be attending the scene this morning to examine the source of the fire.

"At this time it is not being treated as suspicious, but this is pending the results from the examination this morning."