More than 2,000 people including dozens of Brits have been evacuated from their homes because of a Costa del Sol wildfire.
The blaze started in an area called El Higueron near Mijas Pueblo just after midday yesterday before spreading to Alhaurin de la Torre and then Alhaurin el Grande.
The total number of people evacuated from their homes this morning was said to have reached 2,300 as 300 firefighters tackled the flames.
The flames were advancing late yesterday at a speed of 165ft per minute, nearly double that of a wildfire in Sierra Bermeja near Estepona in June.
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That blaze led to the evacuation of the upmarket village of Benahavis and outlying areas including an exclusive villa where outgoing PM Boris Johnson stayed last year on a family holiday.
Wildfires are ripping through both Portugal and Spain with the countries enduring sweltering temperatures.
Residents in the municipality of Alhaurin el Grande, which has a large British expat population, were reportedly cutting down pine trees with chainsaws and using them to form firebreaks in the worst affected areas.
The A-368 road linking Benalmadena to Mijas Pueblo whose famous visitors have included David and Victoria Beckham, and part of the A-404 were closed.
Adrian and Ursula Haworth, a British expat couple in their 80s, told how the flames were within 400 metres of their home when they were forced to leave it for a council-run sports centre in Alhaurin el Grande with their daughter Ursula and her husband Francis.
They closed their front door behind them with little more than the clothes they were wearing and medicines.
The couple who are originally from Lincolnshire, told respected local paper Sur they have no idea what will happen to their home.
Ursula said: “The important thing is life and health because right now material things are what worry us least.
“Our thoughts are with the firefighters. The fire is like a monster. Hopefully this is all over soon.”
Andalucia Forest Fire Extinction Service INFOCA said the 2,300 people evacuated had been ordered to stay away from their homes overnight “as a precaution.”
Most have found alternative accommodation with relatives with only a small number of people ending up needing to use the emergency accommodation provided by local officials.
Andalucian government delegate Antonio Sanz described the night-time efforts to bring the wildfire under control as “intense.”
Alhaurin De la Torre mayor Joaquin Villanova has already admitted the blaze could have been started deliberately.
