IT is supposed to be the most romantic night of the year.

But love and laughs turned to fear for many Hampshire couples last Valentine's Day after the county was battered by severe storms and winds of up to 100mph.

It was the culmination of weeks of bad weather with flooding a common sight throughout many towns and villages.

Perhaps the worst hit town was Milford on Sea, where cars were tossed around like toys and dumped haphazardly on the road and beach.

And 32 staff and customers were left trapped in The Marine restaurant, rescued from the high winds and raging waters thanks to firefighters and the army.

Mountains of debris, with everything from plastic chairs and children’s toys to buoys and life jackets, littered the beach and people’s front gardens leaving a massive clean-up job.

Daily Echo: Clean up at battered restaurant after 80 mile an hour storm

Inside The Marine restaurant after the storm

And as reported by the Daily Echo, a plan to replace around 120 destroyed beach huts will cost around £1.1m.

Other parts of Hampshire suffered similar fates to Milford - with Romsey and Winchester among the worst hit.

Parts of Romsey, such as Greatbridge Road and Budds Lane, were flooded for days and residents were forced to leave their homes for as long as nine months while their properties were repaired.

Now look back at the full extent of the damage in pictures.