A woman who lives in a row of houses evacuated after her balcony collapsed said she was warned the building could fall down.

Sabina Broadbere was one of 25 people who dashed out of homes in Cranbury Avenue, Southampton, on Wednesday after hearing a sound like "two lorries" crashing.

Structural engineers have been assessing the damage to the properties but Sabina was left frustrated about not being able to return on Thursday.

She said cracks reappeared and was told the engineers "don't want people in the building in case it completely falls down".

Sabina, who suffers from anxiety and back problems, has lived in the one-bedroom flat with her two adult sons and a dog for seven years.

She told the Echo: "(On Wednesday) we had a big gust of wind and we had a crash.

"It sounded like two lorries. It sounded like that, but it was really intense...my son said oh my god mom, the balcony's gone again. It all came down."

She added: "They're up there, telling me my windows are structurally sound. Really? They're broke."

On Tuesday part of a balcony fell down and scaffolding was put at the property. Further damage was discovered on Wednesday.

She and 20 other residents were helped by volunteers at St Edmund's Roman Catholic Church at around 6pm on Wednesday.

Daily Echo:

They provided shelter and support and organised taxis to the Ibis Budget Hotel for the night.

Monsignor Vincent, the parish priest, who has worked at the church for around 12 years said: "We were an emergency centre, so we had about 20 residents come to see us with some pets and things.

"We just supported the council as they tried to establish which residents needed support and where to house them."

Anna Smiley, from the rest centre at St Edmund's Roman Catholic Church, added: "It was a bit of a shock, very unexpected, but it was nice to see how quickly people spring into action to help. I was here until 1am."