Firefighters battled the blaze in Ripley Walk, on the Lincoln estate in Corby, for five hours.

The semi-detached home was destroyed and neighbouring houses damaged by the fire which broke out shortly after midnight.

The house was empty at the time and no-one was injured.

The alarm was raised by Laura Keatings, 25, who lives next door with her baby.

She said: "I heard glass smashing and then saw lots of smoke coming from a window.

"It was so quick I didn't think we were going to get out of our house in time before it spread.

"I tried to wake my next door neighbour up because his window was cracking in the heat."

Watch manager at Corby Fire Station, Rob Steward said: "There were lots of people outside and the house was fully alight.

"People were evacuated from surrounding premises due to the smoke.

"The location of that type of property is sometimes quite awkward but we got access via Alberta Close.

"It doesn't appear suspicious. A full investigation is normal for a fire of this severity. "

A forensic team and police are still investigating the incident and the fire service will be returning later today to check on the property,

Two police officers were still at the scene shortly after 8am this morning and the house was surrounded with police tape to stop anyone from getting too close.

Crews from Corby and Kettering tackled the fire.