A FIRE which left a man “ burned and distressed” in Southampton was caused by “wooden embers from a log burner”, it has been revealed.

The 46-year-old man was rescued from a blaze which “completely destroyed” an outbuilding on Portswood Avenue.

Residents reported seeing a massive cloud of smoke during the incident on the night of June 17.

The fire is now believed to have been sparked by wooden embers from a log burner in a workshop, according to Hampshire Fire and Rescue Services. Meanwhile, Hampshire Police confirmed the fire is not suspicious.

As previously reported, the victim was rushed to hospital after suffering serious but not life-threatening injuries. However, the fire engulfed the brick-made outbuilding leaving it “100 per cent damaged”.

Crews from St Mary’s and Eastleigh Fire Stations tackled the blaze and Portswood Road was closed at its junction with Portswood Avenue.

A fire investigation unit remained in the area the following day.

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

“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 and 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.”