A blaze near Bordeaux has torn through more than 162 sq miles (420 sq km) in less than four days, while the Madrid region is seeing its worst fires ever.

Wildfires are tearing through France and Spain, forcing more than 300,000 people to evacuate their homes. France has seen its worst wildfires in two decades, while officials in the Spanish capital Madrid say the fires are the worst the region has ever experienced. It follows a sweltering summer of heatwaves across Europe that have seen temperatures soar above 40C (104F) in many places. Separate wildfires in the regions outside Madrid have together burned about 297 sq miles (770 sq km), authorities estimate - an area larger than Madrid itself. In France, the worst affected area is Gironde, around the city of Bordeaux, where more than 200,000 people have been forced from their homes. The blaze has spread rapidly, tearing through forests and fields in France's famous wine region, and burning more than 162 sq miles (420 sq km) in less than four days - an area roughly four times the size of Paris. The fires have also threatened a number of sensitive military and industrial sites in the area, including facilities that work on French ballistic missiles, rocket motors, and the processing of hazardous chemicals. Satellite imagery above Gironde shows vast areas of scorched, blackened earth, with smoke drifting inland to the east.