DETECTIVES were today investigating after arsonists tried to set a Southampton home on fire as the owners slept in their beds.

Officers say a flammable substance was poured through the letterbox of the house in Aldermoor Avenue, in the Lordshill area of the city, and ignited.

Police were called at 4.25am after a man living at the property called 999.

He had been woken by a downstairs smoke alarm and found the hallway covered in thick smoke.

He ran to the kitchen and used a bucket of water to douse the flames before throwing a rug, which lined the hallway and was still alight, into the yard.

The 42-year-old man, who originates from Hong Kong, lives at the property with his 64-year-old mum. Nobody was injured.

Scenes of crime officers and fire investigators were this morning at the scene trying to determine what happened and who may have caused the blaze.

Next door neighbour Keith Robinson said residents were feeling increasingly unsafe in their houses.

He said: "There was obviously petrol used because I could smell it.

"It is getting to the point where you are frightened to go to bed."

Another neighbour Richard McQuillan was targeted by arsonists earlier this year when his ice cream van was set on fire.

He added: "It seems to be a sign of the times. I think the area's getting worse - it's just beyond a joke now."

Anyone with information about the incident should contact police on 0845 045 4545 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.