A GARDEN shed in Southampton was completely gutted by flames in the early hours of this morning.

Crews from St Mary's fire station were called to a semi detached house in Darwin Road in Shirley at 1.30am after the owner - a man in his 30s - raised the alarm.

Firefighters spent 45 minutes there tackling the blaze and preventing it from spreading to neighbouring properties and the rest of the garden.

The owner was unharmed, but piles of books being stored in the damaged wooden structure were completely destroyed.