Families have relived how their tranquil holidays in France turned into a race to escape raging wildfires. Tourists told the BBC of emergency alerts in the middle of the night, desperate drives just metres from six-storey high flames and the sight of people flocking to beaches with their suitcases. Huge forest fires in south-west France and central Spain have displaced more than 220,000 people, with the French military drafted in to help and the Spanish government declaring a national emergency. Winds and continued heat are still helping to fan the flames with some tourists reporting smelling acrid smoke like a "bonfire" far outside the affected areas. Earlier on Saturday, a French foreign minister described the fires as a "tragedy" but urged tourists not to cancel their travel plans.