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A holidaymaker in France was killed by an explosion believed to have been caused by a World War Two bomb that had washed ashore on the French island of Groix.

The 26-year-old man died after a blast near a campfire while on a break in Brittany with nine other friends, one of whom was seriously injured in the blast.

Early indications, reports radio station France Bleu, suggest the tide had brought the unused explosive to the shore before it detonated at about 2am on Sunday after the group had gone to bed.

Blast: The island of Groix off the coast of Lorient in north-western France, where an explosion killed a camper

The injured 25-year-old friend was transported by helicopter to Nantes while the other members of the party were taken to hospital in nearby Lorient to be treated for shock. 

Police soon cordoned off the beach and a metal object reported to be a 'piece of ammunition' from the second world war was found.

Serene: A beach on the quiet, mineral rich Groix island in Brittany, where a holidaymaker was killed

Divers, de-mining squads and 20 police officers converged on the island to investigate. 

Groix is a sparsely populated and mineral rich island a few kilometres off the coast of Lorient, from which several ferries a day run, in north-western France.