In pictures: Storm hits France and Spain

The strongest storms for a decade in northern Spain and south-west France have wrought widespread destruction.

Winds of up to 172km/h (107mph) struck the Atlantic coast and spread inland.

More than 1.5 million homes in France were without electricity, and rail and air services were suspended in many areas.

Hundreds of technicians were deployed to try to restore power to residents but thousands of fallen trees blocked roads, hampering their efforts.

Weather agencies had forecast the storms but a wider area than anticipated was hit.

Residents in affected areas in both countries were warned to stay indoors for their own safety.

BBC News website reader David Hodge sent this picture of flooding from the River Dropt near Bergerac, France. "It started at around 0330 with a really wild wind," he says.

Pat Davey in Pessac, near the French city of Bordeaux, sent us this photo of tiles blown off a roof.

Duncan Oldham in La Nucia, near the Spanish resort of Benidorm, snapped a forest fire started by an electricity pylon felled by gales.

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