Severe storms kill four in France

At least four people have been killed by storms that battered western France overnight, officials said today.

Dozens more were injured and hundreds were evacuated from campsites to temporary shelters as trees came crashing down.

A storm warning issued by France’s national weather service remained in effect until noon today as storms hit the coastal areas of Brittany, Normandy and parts of the Loire Valley.

Among those killed was a 16-year-old who died of a heart attack last night at a campsite in Gennes, near Saumur, officials said.

Two people were killed in the Landes area, south of Bordeaux.

Police said the two tourists killed in the storm were a Dutchman in his 40s and an 11-year-old German girl.

In the neighbouring Pyrenees-Atlantiques, which borders Spain, a 17-year-old on a scooter was killed when he lost control during a thunderstorm and crashed into another vehicle.

Power cuts were reported in several areas along France’s Atlantic coast.

Emergency services were called out repeatedly overnight to put out fires and help with cases of flooding and collapsed roofs.