Madeira Britons told stay inside after deadly floods

The island's south coast has been worst affected by the devastation

British tourists are being advised to stay indoors for their own safety on the Portuguese island of Madeira, where floods have killed at least 32 people.

The city of Funchal was among the worst affected areas by Saturday's floods and mudslides.

Eyewitnesses writing to BBC News described "roads... beginning to resemble rivers".

The Foreign Office said it had no reports of British casualties or injuries on the Atlantic island.

A spokesman for travel watchdog Abta said: "There are British holidaymakers on Madeira. We don't know how many at the moment but we do not believe it is a large amount.

"They are being advised to stay in their hotels. Representatives from tour operators are in the process of trying to visit them."

There was currently no plan to move the tourists off the island, the spokesman added.

'Really wild'

In an e-mail to the BBC News website, eyewitness Mark Gregory wrote: "When we ventured out this morning, as soon as we came out of the tunnel on the south side, we were absolutely battered by the rain, drain covers were popping up and the roads were beginning to resemble rivers."

Tourist Sue Overell, of Southampton, wrote: "The sea has been really rough with the waves washing over the pool area.

One of the staff here said that in 46 years he had never seen seas like it or winds like it Margaret Beckett Former foreign secretary

"All the hotel staff [are] really concerned - obviously very unused to such high winds and rain at this time of year."

Former foreign secretary Margaret Beckett, staying on the island, told BBC News that the weather had been "really wild".

"One of the staff here said that in 46 years working in the same place he had never seen seas like it or winds like it, so it obviously has been quite exceptional," she said.

Television pictures have showed muddy torrents coursing down narrow channels and spilling over the sides, roads awash with water and streets littered with debris.

Trees have been brought down and cars swept away, blocking roads and hampering relief teams. Some bridges and roads have been washed away.

Portuguese PM Jose Socrates has arrived in Madeira to assess the damage.

Portugal's armed forces are sending two ships with helicopters and medical supplies to the island, where many residents are now without water and electricity.