Neighbours pull dad and daughter from debris of home in Shirley Southampton after gas explosion

The view this morning in Howard's Grove

The pair were pulled from the debris by neighbours after the blast reduced their home to rubble, which was strewn across the area.

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The dad 36, and girl, 4, but both suffered only minor injuries in the explosion thought to have been caused by gas.

By 8am they had been discharged from hospital and were staying at a friend's house.

Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service's control room received around a dozen calls reporting a loud explosion on Howards Grove, Shirley, shortly after 1.30am.

Crews from St Mary's and Redbridge arrived to find the two-storey, end-of-terrace property completely collapsed but with the residents thankfully safely out.

The father and daughter were taken to hospital as a precaution but are not thought to have been seriously injured.

Neighbour Kev Crook said he was woken at 1.30am when he heard the explosion.

"I just heard this great massive bang - I thought it was a clap of thunder but it didn't sound quite right," he said.

Kev then went down stairs and added: "I couldn't believe what I saw - everything had just crashed, it was like the house had been given a great big shake."

Station manager Steve Buchanan-Lee said: "The fact both of them escaped relatively unharmed is nothing short of a miracle.

"The explosion appears to have been caused by gas and reduced the whole property to rubble."

Kerry Hearne, 40, of Howards Grove, said: “It was like a boom – the most frightening thing. Just to see the devastating this morning is just incredible.

“It literally almost threw us out of bed it was so bad. The boom was phenomenal, I can’t even describe it.”

One woman, in her forties who has not been named, said: “I heard a loud bang – it was huge.

"There were lots of people come out of their houses. There were just people jumping into the rubble to try to see if there was anyone in there.

“There were probably about 20 people just jumping in. They started pulling things around.

“The fire started after the bang but it was only tiny the firemen were already here by then and they put it out.”

The other houses in the terrace were evacuated as a precaution as the crews, assisted by HFRS's Urban Search and Rescue team, worked to ensure there was no further collapse of the building.

Engineers from the gas board and Southampton City Council were also called to further investigate the cause of the explosion.

The view of the site as seen from Shirley Towers