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Couples enjoying a Valentine’s Day meal at a beachfront restaurant had to be rescued by the army after windows shattered and the sea flooded in during last night's storm.
Terrified diners fled to the first floor of The Marine in Milford on Sea, Hampshire, when hurricane-force winds smashed shingle through the windows and waves surged in.
James McCrossan, a chef at the restaurant, said: “The wind was just smashing against the windows. It almost looked like the windows were bending.
"The outside of the windows started smashing. There was glass everywhere, it wasn't safe for anyone.
“It's like I never seen before and, touch wood, I hope never to see it again."
The coastguard, fire service and the army were called to help the 32 stranded diners at 10pm.
More debris from the nearby beach shattered the first floor windows before people were eventually taken to safety by six-wheel-drive Army vehicles.
Even they withstood damage from the ferocious storm, which hurled rocks and other debris in gusts of over 80mph.
Stephen Caunter, the restaurant's general manager, told Sky News that most of the vehicles in the car park were washed away, under water or written off, and feared they would have to cancel wedding bookings.
Hampshire Police said no one was seriously injured.
Karen Bosman, from Lymington Coastguard, told BBC Breakfast she had never seen conditions like it in The Solent.
She added: "The sustained ferocity I have never seen in my experience. Last night we were getting gusts of 69 knots while this was occurring, and 69 knots is hurricane-force winds.”
The gales turned shingle and rocks into missiles that decimated parts of the seafront, ripping a row of beach huts into shreds and leaving debris strewn over the road.
Many cars had their winds smashed along with dents and scratches and a life ring was dumped hundreds of metres from the shore.
Resident Chris Smith, 23, said the beach, which is popular with local families and tourists in the summer, was "ruined".
"It looks like a war zone," he added. "I reckon there's a couple of million pounds of damage."
Milford on Sea was one of many coastal areas battered by the latest Atlantic storm to hit Britain.
Two people died yesterday in the extreme conditions and thousands of homes are without power, while flooded communities continue to battle rising water levels.
Show all 60 1 /60In pictures: Severe weather batters UK In pictures: Severe weather batters UK UK The trunk of a storm damaged tree is seen laying across residential property following high winds in Wraysbury
In pictures: Severe weather batters UK UK A resident looks at a storm damaged tree as it rests on the roof of a residential property following high winds in Wraysbury
In pictures: Severe weather batters UK UK A police officer looks on as a British solider helps a tree surgeon remove a fallen tree in Egham, west of London after high winds brought by a winter storm battered southern England
In pictures: Severe weather batters UK UK British soliders help a tree surgeon remove a fallen tree in Egham, west of London
In pictures: Severe weather batters UK UK Engineers continue to install high capacity Dutch supplied pumps besides the river near Bridgwater in Somerset
In pictures: Severe weather batters UK UK Newhaven lighthouse is battered by waves as high winds from the lastest winter storm continue in Newhaven on the south coast of England
In pictures: Severe weather batters UK UK Waves crash into a groyne near the West Pier in Brighton
In pictures: Severe weather batters UK UK A police officer walks past the wreck of a car after masonry from a building collapsed onto the car in high winds killing a woman in central London
In pictures: Severe weather batters UK UK A volunteer stands by with a spade as he joins others in filling sandbags to be distributed to combat flooding in Egham, west of London
In pictures: Severe weather batters UK UK Flooded properties are seen in the now largely evacuated and flooded village of Moorland on the Somerset Levels
In pictures: Severe weather batters UK UK A car drives through flood water on the Somerset Levels near Langport in Somerset
In pictures: Severe weather batters UK UK Flood water collects in an allotment site near Langport in Somerset
In pictures: Severe weather batters UK UK Flooded fields surround the River Tone that has burst its banks viewed from Windmill Hill, in Stoke-St-Gregory near Langport in Somerset
In pictures: Severe weather batters UK UK Trees are reflected in flood waters on the Somerset Levels near Langport in Somerset
In pictures: Severe weather batters UK UK Farmer Roger Forgan uses a boat to cross farm land in front of his flooded farm which has been cut off by flood waters at Muchelney near Langport in Somerset
In pictures: Severe weather batters UK UK A man walks beside the River Tone seen from Windmill Hill, Somerset, as flooding persists on the levels
In pictures: Severe weather batters UK UK Flooded fields around the River Tone seen from Windmill Hill, Somerset
In pictures: Severe weather batters UK UK An electricity survey helicopter flies over flooded farmland surrounding Burrowbridge in Somerset
In pictures: Severe weather batters UK UK Flooded farmland surrounding Burrowbridge in Somerset
In pictures: Severe weather batters UK UK Anne Bourmer wades through flood water outside her home in Hooe, East Sussex, as more heavy rain sweeps across the country
In pictures: Severe weather batters UK UK Flood water is pumped into the River Parrott by the Environment Agency in Moorland in Somerset
In pictures: Severe weather batters UK UK A flood sign is seen in flood waters surrounding farm buildings in Somerset
In pictures: Severe weather batters UK UK Debris washed up by flood water is seen at James Winslade's farm in Moorland in Somerset
In pictures: Severe weather batters UK UK Farmer James Winslade stands in front of bales of animal feed as he surveys some of his 790 acres of flooded land at his farm in Moorland in Somerset, England
In pictures: Severe weather batters UK UK Flood water surrounds a house in the village of Thorney in Somerset
In pictures: Severe weather batters UK UK A car is seen submerged on the side of a flooded road leading into the cut-off village of Muchelney in Somerset. A local council declared a major incident on the flood-hit Somerset Levels where some villages like Muchelney have been cut off for weeks by flooding that has submerged roads and thousands of acres of farmland in the area of southwestern England
In pictures: Severe weather batters UK UK A policeman on a boat looks at a car submerged on the side of a flooded road leading into the cut-off village of Muchelney in Somerset
In pictures: Severe weather batters UK UK The village of Muchelney is seen beyond flood water in Somerset
In pictures: Severe weather batters UK UK An anti-fracking campaigner braves the severe weather to take part in a protest march near to the IGas Barton Moss fracking exploration rig in Salford
In pictures: Severe weather batters UK UK Snow covered sheep huddle together on moorland as heavy snow falls on the North Yorkshire Moors near Castleton
In pictures: Severe weather batters UK UK A motorist attempts to push his car up a snow covered road as heavy snow falls on the North Yorkshire Moors near Castleton
In pictures: Severe weather batters UK UK A tractor snow plough tries to keep the road open as heavy snow falls on the North Yorkshire Moors near Castleton
In pictures: Severe weather batters UK UK Motorcycle riders take shelter in a roadside hut as heavy snow falls on the North Yorkshire Moors near Castleton
In pictures: Severe weather batters UK UK A couple take their dog for a walk over snow covered fields as heavy snow falls on the North Yorkshire Moors near Castleton
In pictures: Severe weather batters UK UK Waves crash onto the promenade between Fleetwood and Blackpool as high tides and huge waves hit the West Coast of the UK
In pictures: Severe weather batters UK UK Waves crash onto the promenade between Fleetwood and Blackpool, as high tides and huge waves hit the North West England
In pictures: Severe weather batters UK UK Debris from the previous day's storm weather litters the promenade road in Aberystwyth, West Wales
In pictures: Severe weather batters UK UK The damage in Aberystwyth where violent storms and gale force winds have reduced large parts of the historic seafront to rubble and threaten to destroy a popular landmark, the Victorian public shelter
In pictures: Severe weather batters UK UK The damage in Aberystwyth where violent storms and gale force winds have reduced large parts of the historic seafront to rubble and threaten to destroy a popular landmark, the Victorian public shelter
In pictures: Severe weather batters UK UK A man tries start a Mercedes car left stricken in flood water on the road leading to the village of Muchelney which has been cut off by flooding, near Langport in Somerset
In pictures: Severe weather batters UK UK Flood water is seen inside the home of Muchelney resident and farmer Mike Curtis in the village of Muchelney which has been cut off by flooding, near Langport in Somerset
In pictures: Severe weather batters UK UK Water covers the coastal roads at Clevelys near Blackpool as large waves crash over the sea defences as high tides and huge waves hit the west coast of the UK
In pictures: Severe weather batters UK UK Cars drive through flood water from the river Arun in Pulborough, England
In pictures: Severe weather batters UK UK Flood water from the River Wey fills a field in Guildford, England
In pictures: Severe weather batters UK UK A workman clears drains, after high tide caused flooding on the coast road in Carnlough, Co Antrim
In pictures: Severe weather batters UK UK The Tewkesbury Abbey is seen surrounded by flood water in Tewkesbury
In pictures: Severe weather batters UK UK A swan swims on flood water surrounding Tewkesbury Abbey in the small town of Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire
In pictures: Severe weather batters UK UK A flooded playground is seen by the Tewkesbury Abbey in the small town of Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire. Emergency services in weather-battered Britain are attempting to cope with a trail of damage caused by severe winter storms and flooding - the worst such sustained period of stormy weather for two decades
In pictures: Severe weather batters UK UK A flooded house is seen in the small town of Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire as large areas of the country continue to experience heavy rainfall, strong winds and high tides
In pictures: Severe weather batters UK UK A flooded road is seen in the small town of Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire
In pictures: Severe weather batters UK UK High tide waves break along the seafront at Porthcawl in Mid Glamorgon, Wales. After a period of recent storms and heavy rain, forecasters are warning that there is still more bad weather to come over the next few days
In pictures: Severe weather batters UK UK Areas next to the River Thames in Henley-on-Thames, Berkshire
In pictures: Severe weather batters UK UK Environment Agency workers lay sandbags onto river defence barriers next to the River Thames on Osney Island in Oxford
In pictures: Severe weather batters UK UK Sandbags near river defence barriers next to the River Thames on Osney Island in Oxford
In pictures: Severe weather batters UK UK Police tape near Osney Lock in Oxford, where a 47-year-old man died when his mobility scooter fell into a river after he apparently drove it along a flooded pathway
In pictures: Severe weather batters UK UK People watch the waves at Cleveleys, Lancashire as stormy weather continues across parts of the country
In pictures: Severe weather batters UK UK Areas next to the River Thames in Shinfield, Berkshire, are flooded after the river burst its banks
In pictures: Severe weather batters UK UK Flooded areas next to the River Thames in Henley-on-Thames, Berkshire
In pictures: Severe weather batters UK UK Severe floods in Henley-on-Thames, Berkshire
In pictures: Severe weather batters UK UK A wave breaks along the seafront at Porthcawl in Mid Glamorgon, Wales
Additional reporting by Press Association
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