People living in a block of flats have told of the moment flames took hold.

A fire broke out in Wood Close, Sholing, Southampton, tonight.

One person who lives below the affected flat told the Echo how their brother rushed to save cats in the property.

The person said: “My brother heard a fire alarm go off and didn’t think anything of it.

“It was going for a while, and it didn’t get turned off, so about five minutes later they heard a massive bang.

“My brother and sister both had ringing in their ears, so they ran out.

“My brother went back upstairs to save our cats, went to the flat upstairs to make sure everyone was out.

“My sister had to stop him from going back in, he could’ve died from the smoke.”