Freak tornado kills at least three and rips terrifying path of devastation through northern France

Nine others were injured as the freak winds tore through a seven-mile area less than 50 miles from the coast of England, gutting houses and hurling cars into the air.

Worst hit was the town of Hautmont. Resident Erick Filleur said: "There was a deep roar, like a bomb. Then my shutters exploded and part of the roof flew off.''

Wind monster: An aerial photograph taken today shows the path of destruction mown through Hautmont by the flash storm in the space of minutes

Another neighbour told how her baby's cot was tossed around the nursery by the wind, although the seven-month-old was unhurt.

A woman in her 70s died when her house collapsed late on Sunday, in Hautmont, in northern France, while a deputy mayor and his wife were also crushed in their own home.

Hopeless: Rescuers dig through the deputy mayor's house, which has been torn open by the storm. Both the deputy mayor and his wife perished in the freak storm

The freak storm devastated two streets in Hautmont, where 16,000 people live.

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Trees were uprooted, roofs were torn from dozens of houses, and over a thousand homes were left without electricity as power cables were ripped down by the winds.

The tornado barreled straight through several of the houses in Hautmont

A man stands in the rubble of what was once a house after the freak storm hit last night

A fire service spokesman said: "The tornado came out of nowhere and left total chaos behind it in five villages.

"It took down power and phone lines and damaged or destroyed almost everything in its way.

"Then by two o'clock on Monday morning it had disappeared."