More than 2,500 migrants camped by French port desperate to get to UK

Eight migrants killed in Calais this year after falling from moving vehicles

Steve Pearson hides them in his van because 'it's right thing to do'

A British people-smuggler picks up illegal migrants in Calais, hides them in his VW van and takes them to the UK and other countries - for free.

Steve Pearson believes it's the moral thing to do - even though admitting to the illegal smuggling of migrants could get him arrested.

'I bring them in because the other alternative is them grabbing hold of the bottom of a lorry and they're going to come in anyway,' says Mr Pearson.

A British man, Steve Pearson, told Channel 4 that he picks up illegal migrants in Calais, hides them in his VW van and takes them to the UK and other countries without charge

Mr Pearson was interviewed as part of Channel 4's Dispatches investigation into gangs of people smugglers in Calais, who are offering migrants a menu of prices to be transported to Britain - ranging from £700 'economy class' to £6,500 to secure a place in a lorry.

The documentary discovered that the gangs tout for business at the camps referred to as the Jungle - which have sprung up near the French port town.

More than 2,500 migrants from countries including Eritrea, Ethiopia and Sudan are camped there and are willing to risk their lives attempting to come to Britain.

Mr Pearson says he simply wants to fight injustice - at least eight migrants have been killed in Calais this year after falling from moving vehicles and two more bound for the UK burnt to death last week in the back of a lorry in Dunkirk after an explosion.

'I understand that it's called a crime, but I don't feel as though it is by helping somebody.

'I'm trying to make a difference… I don't fear prison.'

Investigation: Channel 4 reporter Paraic O'Brien meets an Eritrean woman in Calais during filming of Dispatches programme How To Break Into Britain

Reporter Paraic O'Brien, who uncovered these people-smuggling packages for Channel 4, reports that gangs lay claim to certain lorry parks at Calais where drivers park up overnight before boarding a ferry.

While drivers sleep, gangs offer illegal immigrants access to their lorries - for a price.

Shoaib Sharifi, an Afghan reporter working undercover, was offered access to a lorry park for £700, but was told he would have to board a lorry without help.

He was also offered a £1,500 'business class' service by a Kurdish gang in nearby Dunkirk - for that money they'd place him securely in a refrigerated lorry.

'They told me that there are two types of smugglers… each operating different lorry car parks,' explains Mr Sharifi.

'And one is known to be the best, i.e., controlling a better lorry car park with an easy access and charging more, and the other one, who's kind of seen as a second layer and slightly cheaper.'

An image from the Channel 4 programme shows tents where migrants hoping to come to the UK live

There is no evidence that the lorry drivers themselves are involved in the illegal economy or business class travel packages.

A 'first class' service is also offered to migrants, according to the documentary.

Mr Sharifi was told by a middleman in Calais that for £6,500 a man of Afghan origin, who appeared to be operating from London, would provide a designated driver and van to smuggle him into Britain.

This first class service differs from the other options in that the driver is aware that he will be smuggling someone in.

'The man [offering the service] was wary,' explains reporter Mr O'Brien. 'He didn't reveal his name or the location of his business in London.'

For £1,500 this Kurdish smuggler, called Sadiquat, offered a 'business class' service - for that money they'd place him securely in a refrigerated lorry

These people-smugglers compete with each other, some even offering money back guarantees.

Of course, most of the estimated 2,500 immigrants in Calais' makeshift camps can't afford to pay the smugglers and therefore can't access the lorry parks.

As a result they are more likely to try to jump on moving lorries and get badly injured or in some cases killed – at least eight immigrants have been killed this year falling off of lorries.

British lorry driver Colin Maplethorpe says the number of immigrants trying to board his lorry illegally is growing. 'It's changed a lot this last five or six years,' he says.

'There's a lot more of them. It's probably trebled to what it used to be.' With fines of £2000 per stowaway, however, it would be an expensive disaster for Colin if any immigrants were to hop aboard.

Mr O'Brien says: 'The only winners here are the smugglers and the smugglers have blood on their hands.'

Another smuggler called Tariq offered Channel 4's undercover reporter transport to get to Britain

Migrants break into a lorry as it fills up with fuel in a road close to the port of Calais in May

One Afghan migrant, who hopes to get a job in the UK after failing to find work in Italy, told the Sunday Times: 'There are 15 of us and if just two of us get through in three weeks, it's a good result.'

He claimed that some of his friends have been attempting to cross the Channel for a month now.

In response to the vast smuggling operations, local police have increased patrols in the area and Britain recently offered £12million to the French authorities to improve security at the port.

French police stop a truck carrying Syrian migrants hoping to be smuggled into Britain earlier this year

Home Secretary Theresa May and her French counterpart Bernard Cazeneuve reached a deal which will also see increased co-operation between the two countries' law enforcement agencies.

Some of the money will be used to construct robust fences and increase security in the parking area at the port.

The National Crime Agency will also second a full-time officer to Ocriest, the French agency responsible for tackling illegal immigration, while the French border police will send two officers each month to work with the joint border intelligence unit in Folkestone.