Large wildfires in south-west France have forced the evacuation of tens of thousands of residents and holidaymakers from the Cap Ferret peninsula and nearby Biscarrosse, while Spain is also dealing with significant fires west of Madrid.

The French fires, which began in the Gironde region, have burned around 10,000 hectares of forest, destroyed or damaged numerous homes and threatened popular holiday destinations.

Authorities ordered the evacuation of approximately 40,000 people from Cap Ferret, with some leaving by road and others by boat because access to the peninsula is limited.

Thousands more were evacuated from Biscarrosse and neighbouring areas as another fast-moving fire spread through woodland, campsites and residential districts.

British tourists described waking to emergency alerts, seeing ash falling from the sky and driving through long queues while flames consumed nearby forests.

French officials reported that dozens of homes had been destroyed, a firefighter was injured during operations and hundreds of firefighters, supported by aircraft and international assistance from several European countries, continued efforts to contain the blazes.French President Emmanuel Macron requested support through the European Union civil protection mechanism.

At the same time, Spain declared a state of emergency in parts of the Madrid region after another major wildfire prompted the evacuation of more than 10,000 people.

Firefighters and emergency crews remained deployed across multiple locations as hot, dry and windy conditions continued to fuel the fires across western Europe.