HOLIDAYMAKERS have been evacuated from a seafront apartment block after huge 40ft waves wiped out balconies in Tenerife.

Dramatic footage shows huge waves crashing into the third-floor of an apartment block in Mesa del Mar, popular with Brits.

Fierce storms led to restaurant windows being smashed, cars swept into the sea and a football pitch being destroyed by severe floods on the tourist island.

Local mayor Alvaro Davila said 65 apartments, some believed to be holiday homes, were evacuated.

He also confirmed nobody had been injured in the scare, which led to 39 people being ordered to leave two buildings in Garichico, north-west Tenerife.

Meanwhile, diners were left stunned after waves smashed the windows of a hotel restaurant on the southern coast of the island.

Dramatic footage shows a hotel on fire after it was struck by lighting in Marbella.

Smoke could be seen pouring out of the Playa Hotel in the Las Chapas area.

It is not known if any of Brits were caught up in the incidents.

The incidents happened after regional government officials issued a severe weather warning as a fierce storm battered the north of Tenerife and other parts of the Canary Islands.

Garichico was one of the worst affected areas, with waves crashing over the sea wall and flooding streets to the astonishment of locals who filmed the water racing towards them as they ran for safety.

Further south, in the holiday hotspot of Adeje there were also reports of waves breaking the windows of a hotel restaurant, although again there were no injuries.

The first evacuations were carried out around 10pm on Saturday night, with more following around 2am.

Many of the homes evacuated in Mesa del Mar are holiday homes.

It is not known if any Brits were among those asked to leave their apartments, although the town is popular with holidaymakers and has two natural swimming pools which are a big draw with locals and day visitors.

Parts of Malaga were also hit by heavy downpours with Mijas, Ojen and Coin all badly affected.

Hotel Playa in Las Chapas caught fire after it was hit by lightning.

Streets in Marbella have become virtual rivers due to the rain.

Roads around Los Llanitos and Herrizo have been destroyed by a landslide.

On the Spanish mainland, the east coast province of Valencia and parts of the Costa Blanca have been placed on red alert for tomorrow as they prepare for torrential rain.

Twenty town halls in the region, including the Costa Blanca holiday resorts of Javea and Denia, have announced schools will be shut tomorrow because of the severe weather alert.