RESIDENTS were left in shock after a body was found in a Southampton home in a “chemical incident”.

Emergency services swooped on Honeysuckle Road shortly after 8.30pm on Thursday after reports that a man’s body had been discovered at a home in the street.

Hampshire police said a “potentially hazardous substance” was also found at the scene and fire crews were called to make the area safe.

Residents said the road was cordoned off and neighbours were told not to leave their homes.

Tania Warren, 57, an optical dispenser, who lives in Honeysuckle Road, said: “I have never seen so many emergency services.

I had no idea what was going on. I just looked out the window. I saw all the lights of the emergency services, they were coming from both sides.”

Another neighbour, who did not want to be named, said emergency services told residents not to leave their homes.

He said: “We asked what was going on but they would not tell us. We were told to close all the doors and all the windows. They would not tell us anything more than that.

“Everything happened at once, we really didn’t know what to do. I work nights and I could not go to work because the road was cordoned off. It just felt a bit surreal.

“Obviously it was quite serious because of the amount of emergency services that was here.”

Residents said emergency services left between 11pm and midnight.

Firefighters from St Mary’s Fire Station and specialist vehicles attended the scene.

Crews used breathing apparatus and they left the scene at around 11pm.

A spokesman for Hampshire Fire and Rescue said: “It was a chemical incident which was handed over to the police.”

In a statement Hampshire police said: “We were called at 8.38pm to a report of a man’s body having been discovered at a home on Honeysuckle Road.

“A potentially hazardous substance was also found at the scene. Colleagues from Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service made the area safe.

“The death is not being treated as suspicious. A file is being prepared for the coroner. The man’s next of kin are yet to be notified.”