A FAMILY in Southampton had to flee for their lives this morning after fire took hold in a bedroom shared by three children.

Two girls and a boy were having their breakfast downstairs at their terraced house in Lordshill when the blaze broke out.

A fourth person, 19-year-old Jane Lecras, woke up as the fire took hold in the bedroom next to her.

She ran downstairs and waited outside while two Royal Navy crews manning Green Goddesses were called, along with a military breathing apparatus and rescue team.

Jane's cousins, Jordan Harding, six, and her two brothers, Nicholas, seven, and Ben, 11, joined her in the front garden at Croydon Close.

The childrens' mother, Heidi, had ushered the youngsters out of the kitchen and into the garden after smelling smoke at 8.15am.

Another member of the family, the childrens' father, Kevin, a warehouse operative, was at work at the time.

He said: "My wife was in a bit of a state when she phoned. There was lots of damage in one bedroom upstairs. I don't know how it was caused."

A fire safety officer from Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service said the home was too dangerous to live in for at least three days due to lingering toxic smoke.

One of the bedrooms was badly damaged in the blaze. It was not known how the blaze was caused.

The family were waiting to hear from their insurance company about where they can stay in the meantime.