AROUND 30 firefighters tackled a blaze which broke out in the roof of a Southbourne home while the occupants were out.

Neighbours raised the alarm after seeing smoke coming from the house in Glenroyd Gardens at around 12.43pm on Monday.

The first firefighters were on the scene within five minutes.

The severe fire in the roof spread to the upstairs bathroom as neighbours looked on.

One shocked neighbour said: “We were about to go out when we saw smoke coming out of the roof.

“Two of us called the fire brigade at the same time. They came quite quickly in about five minutes but there was so much damage done in that time.

“The flames were coming out of the roof pretty high and there was so much smoke. It was awful. We felt pretty helpless.”

The home’s occupants, who had only been living there for a matter of weeks, returned home while firefighters were on the scene.

“They’ve just turned up to find this. It’s awful,” the neighbour said.

After tackling the blaze, firefighters remained on the scene to try and salvage items prevent water damage as they damped down.