A NEIGHBOUR who saw a fire break out in a shed has spoken of the moment he raised the alarm.

Steven Barlow, who works at the YMCA, has lived on Howeth Road in Bournemouth for nearly 30 years.

He first noticed the large amounts of smoke when he parked his car outside his house.

He said: “I saw a bit of smoke and I thought my neighbours were having a barbeque but it looked a bit too smokey for my liking and then I saw a big flame and it caught fire.”

When the fire started, one of the owners of the shed was inside the bungalow and the other was in another outbuilding.

Mr Barlow said: “I started shouting their names because they weren’t aware there was a fire and then they realised there was a situation.”

Mr Barlow said the neighbour tried to put out his shed with a hose but the fire services were called and turned up shortly after.

He said: “Without me shouting and hollering they wouldn’t have known anything but I’m really pleased that they’re safe and their pet dogs are safe.

"The bungalow didn’t get damaged, only a little bit of the guttering but its only really nine fence panels and the front bit of the garden. The fire brigade did a grand job.

“All our neighbours are good neighbours and it's a lovely neighbourhood where we are and it was fortunate that I was there to handle the situation until the fire brigade came and everyone is safe with less damage to the property.”

People who live in the area have been helping to clean up the debris and charred wood from the fire.

Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service said the cause of the fire has not yet been established.