ARSONISTS could be behind a fire that destroyed a pawnbroker's shop in Southampton this morning.

The blaze started on the ground floor at about 2.20am before spreading to the first floor and roof of the shop in Shirley Road, Shirley.

More than a dozen firefighters from Redbridge and St Mary's tackled the fire at Cheque and Pawn.

The blaze destroyed the shop, which has been in Shirley Road for 15 years, but manager Paul Newman insisted valuable jewellery had not been damaged.

The road was closed for about three hours while firefighters fought to control the flames at the detached property.

Later this morning, police had arrived and a fire investigation team was on its way to search the building.

Mr Newman said: "I was called by the alarm company early in the morning and came down to find the fire brigade here. All the valuable bits and pieces are all in a fireproof safe and it mainly looks like paperwork has been damaged. There's definitely no jewellery damaged."

He added that if customers were concerned about goods, they should visit sister shop Cheque and Pawn in Portswood Road, which would deal with enquiries until the Shirley store was up and running.

A Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service spokesman said: "We believe the fire started on the ground floor of the property and currently the cause is under investigation.

DC Keith McKay, from Shirley CID, added: "It's gutted inside but it's too dangerous to enter at the moment so we're waiting for the fire investigation team to arrive."