A SOUTHAMPTON couple went to the shops this evening and returned to find their home on fire.

Dave Ayres and his wife Wendy, of Warburton Road in Thornhill, were approaching the semi-detached property on foot when they heard their smoke alarm.

They opened the front door and were confronted by smoke billowing out of the hallway.

The blaze, believed to have broken out in a fridge-freezer, caused extensive damage to the two-bedroom bungalow.

Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service described the impact of the fire as "fairly significant".

Mr Ayres said: "We'd been to the shops and were walking along the side of the house when we heard the smoke alarm. We opened the front door and a lot of smoke came out.

"We moved our vehicles away from the building and rang the fire brigade, who were here in minutes.

"There appears to be a lot of smoke damage but we won't really know until we see it in daylight tomorrow. We've got a motorhome and will probably sleep in that tonight."