Violence broke out in the so-called 'Jungle' refugee camp in Calais today as hundreds of UK-bound migrants fought a pitched battle with police.

Clashes started at around 3pm on waste ground bordering the notorious shantytown, which is now home to around 10,000 people.

'Missiles were thrown at officers, and migrants tried to get out of the camp, and on to nearby roads. Their aim was to stop lorries heading for Britain,' said a local police source.

Riot police disperse migrants with tear gas today as they tried to get into lorries heading to Britain

Police fired scores of teargas canisters and the ring road next to the camp was temporarily closed.

One migrant was arrested after being caught throwing objects at police officers, one of whom suffered a shoulder injury.

The disturbances, which went on for about 90 minutes, came as work continued on a controversial British taxpayer-funded £2m wall in the area.

Meanwhile former French President Nicolas Sarkozy called for the ‘restoration of controls on all of France’s borders’ so it is not ‘overwhelmed’ by migrants.

Mr Sarkozy, who is planning to run for President again next year, repeated a call for Britain to stop being allowed to have border controls on French soil, even though they were introduced while he was interior minister in 2003.

Migrants are seen walking along the road today near lorries which are heading towards the ferry terminal in Calais

A migrant climbs out of a lorry heading to Britain after being spotted by police in the port of Calais today

French charities and politicians from both left and right are among those who have reacted with fury to the building of the so-called 'Wall of Shame'.

A French online petition against the wall reads: 'We must stop this expenditure by the British taxpayer being used to build a wall that has no meaning.'

It adds that Britain should deal with the refugees who want to start lives in the UK, deporting them if necessary.

Migrants flee as French riot police use tear gas, close to the ferry terminal in Calais today

French riot policemen stand guard at the entrance to 'the Jungle' as dozens of migrants try to storm lorries heading towards the ferry terminal in Calais today

Under the 2003 Le Touquet deal between France and the UK, Britain can carry out checks in Calais to stop migrants trying to get to Britain, while French counterparts can do the equivalent in Dover.

Right-wing politicians such as Sarkozy and Xavier Bertrand, the head of the regional council in Calais, want the Le Touquet deal torn up if the Republicans defeat the Socialists in French presidential elections in the spring.

Residents of Calais want the government to set a date for the entire camp to be razed.

French riot police officers with cameras and batons stand guard at the entrance of 'the Jungle' today as dozens of migrants try to storm lorries heading for Britain

Riot police disperse migrants trying to get into lorries heading to Britain

Dozens of migrants gather near lorries which are heading towards the ferry terminal in Calais

Migrants run away from tear gas during clashes with riot police trying to prevent them from getting into lorries heading for Dover

Migrants run away from tear gas during clashes with riot police trying to prevent them from getting into lorries heading for Britain

Around 300 migrants were involved in today's disturbances

Tear gas was used to keep migrants away from the temporary barrier which keeps them away from lorries heading into the port

Dozens of French riot police officers were involved in today's disturbances

A mile-long 13ft high wall, which will cost the UK taxpayer £2 million, is being built to stop migrants getting near the road

The new wall is designed to prevent migrants from accessing trucks making their way to Calais and towards Dover

Workers leveled of the wet concrete on the foundation for the planned wall which will be 13 foot high once complete

They said they were disgusted by the prospect of the 13ft high, mile-long structure which will be designed to try and stop migrants getting aboard UK-bound lorries.

A petition has already been started, saying French frontier controls should simply be moved to the south coast of England, along with all the refugees who want to go there.

Numerous demonstrations have already been held in Calais against the construction of the wall over the past two years.

'When you build a wall, people try to find ways to get round it,' Francois Guennoc, of the Auberge des migrants (Migrants' Shelter) group, told a crowd at one.

Mr Guennoc said: 'It's a waste of money. The only consequence is that the crossing will be more dangerous for migrants, and the people smugglers will increase their rates. People will just take more risks.'

The Auberge is one of numerous charities currently looking after some 10,000 refugees in the so-called 'Jungle' camp in Calais.

All want to get to Britain, where they will claim asylum, or else start working in the black economy.

There are an estimated 10,000 people living in the Jungle on the outskirts of Calais seeking to sneak into the UK

Large rubber-wheeled excavators began digging out the foundations as work began on the massive contract this morning

Some locals have dubbed the planned structure 'a wall of shame' which 'dishonours the French Republic'

Thierry Kuhn, head of the Emmaus France charity, which also works in the Jungle, said: 'We are all gathered to refuse a new wall which is set to be built on our doorstep, in Calais. We are all gathered to say no to the wall of shame.'

Humourist Guy Bedos, a French celebrity who lives in Calais, said he was 'repulsed' by the thought of the wall, because it made him 'ashamed to be human'.

Mr Bedos said the wall 'dishonours the French Republic', and that more humanitarian steps should be taken to deal with Europe's mounting refugee crisis.

The online petition against the wall reads: 'We must stop this expenditure by the British taxpayer being used to build a wall that has no meaning.'

It adds that Britain should deal with the refugees who want to start lives in the UK, deporting them if necessary.

An online petition has called on Britain to deal with its own asylum seekers, which is a view backed by Nicolas Sarkozy

A 2003 deal between Britain and France allowed them to conduct immigration checks on the 'other' side of the Channel

Nicolas Sarkozy, who is running for President next year wants the migrants in the Jungle moved to Dover instead of Calais

This view is shared by France's Opposition Republican Party. Its leader Nicolas Sarkozy, who wants to stand for re-election as president next year, is 'demanding the opening of a centre in Britain to deal with asylum seekers in Britain so that Britain can do the work that concerns them.'

This would lead to the French simply sending the thousands arriving from war-torn countries such as Afghanistan, Eritrea and Syria straight to the south coast of England, so effectively transferring the Jungle to England.

Under the 2003 Le Touquet deal between France and the UK, Britain can carry out checks in Calais to stop migrants trying to get to Britain, while French counterparts can do the equivalent in Dover.

Right-wing politicians such as Mr Sarkozy and Xavier Bertrand, the head of the regional council in Calais, want the agreement torn up if the Republicans defeat the Socialists in presidential elections next Spring.

The immigration minister, Robert Goodwill, told the Commons Home Affairs Committee 'we are going to start building this big new wall very soon.'We've done the fence, now we are doing a wall,' he said.

Critics of the wall claimed migrants will simply be able to find their way around the structure which will be half-a-mile long

The wall will pass within a few hundred metres of the sprawling Jungle migrant camp which now houses 10,000 people. The wall will extend the wire fences that already run down each side of the main road leading to the port.

Local authorities say it is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said this month the Jungle would be closed down 'as quickly as possible' but said it would be done in stages.

Local authorities say the wall is also designed to dissuade people traffickers from operating around the Jungle.