OVER 3000 tourists have been evacuated from a Brit holiday hotspot after wildfires ripped through homes and campsites.
The blazes swept through 500 hectares of land in the popular region of Pyrenees-Orientales in southern France sending the holidaymakers fleeing.
AFPHolidaymakers fled the area as the fires raged[/caption]
AFPOver 500 firefighters have been working to contain the blaze[/caption]
Horror footage from the area shows the wildfires shockingly close to the campsites as children scream in terror.
Family were forced to abandon their belongings and run for their lives as the fires were whipped by strong winds and quickly spread yesterday.
The fire first broke out in Saint-André on Monday afternoon and swept through 500 hectares near the villages of Saint-Andre, Sorede and the seaside resort of Argeles.
The fire threatened to enclose three busy campsites, sparking an immediate evacuation as the flames neared their tents and motor homes.
Almost 500 firefighters are still battling the flames this morning and water bombers worked through the night to contain the flames, senior state official, Rodrigue Furcy, said.
He added: “The situation was delicate due to intense heat, drought and swirling winds up to 80 km/h”.
Seventeen firefighters were “slightly injured because they inhaled fumes,” continued Furcy, “but the good news is that there have been no fatalities”.
Thirty houses had been damaged, along with a warehouse and a campsite.
The 3000 that were evacuated have been taken to emergency camps in town halls to sleep on makeshift beds.
“We have the keys to the motor home, that’s all we have left,” evacuee Valérie told Le Parisien.
Along with her husband, she escaped the Red Oaks campsite in Argelès-sur-Mer, Pyrenees-Orientales just before it became consumed by the flames.
Have you been impacted by the wildfires in southern France? Tell us you story at: iona.cleave@the-sun.co.uk or worldnews@the-sun.co.uk
Further footage shows the burnt-out ruins of holiday homes and pools black with ash.
Horror scenes show a campsite still smouldering as firefighters struggle to put out the flames.
Several roads were closed and the train service from Perpignan to the Spanish border was suspended for several hours.
Bordering on Spain, the Pyrenees-Orientales region has been affected worse than any other French region by a devastating drought.
AFP
AFPThe remains of a holiday home after the fires ravaged it[/caption]
AFPThe evacuees have been taken to makeshift camps[/caption]