Father and daughter pulled from house rubble by neighbours after explosion in 'miracle' rescue

Gas engineers and Southampton City Council are investigating the cause

The house in Southampton was completely destroyed in a suspected gas blast (PA)

A father and his four-year-old daughter were dragged from the rubble of their home by neighbours after it completely collapsed in a suspected gas explosion last night.

The pair, who have not been named, escaped from the mountain of bricks and debris after the two-storey end-of-terrace house in Shirley, Southampton, blew up.

Dozens of calls from concerned neighbours were made to emergency services at around 1.30am, Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service said.

Residents of Howards Grove pulled out the 36-year-old man and the girl before they were taken to Southampton General Hospital to be treated for minor injuries.

The girl's mother is reported to have been at work at the time of the incident and both the father and daughter have since been discharged from hospital today.

Four other houses were evacuated and other properties had their windows shattered by the blast before firefighters worked to ensure there was no further collapse of the damaged building.

An exclusion zone is in place while engineers from Southern Gas Networks (SGN) and Southampton City Council investigate the cause of the explosion.

A SGN spokesman said engineers had isolated the gas supply to the property but supplies to other properties remain unaffected.