GETTY In the last two years the number of people trying to enter the UK illegally has risen 350 per cent

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Thousands of immigrants, lured by jobs, benefits and healthcare, are massed along the French coast in record numbers. Latest figures obtained by the Daily Express show 27,755 attempts to enter Britain illegally were stopped between January and June this year. This compares with 12,980 in the first six months of 2014 and 6,238 in 2013. In only two years, the numbers have risen by almost 350 per cent. Critics said last night the Home Office statistics proved the EU’s “open door policy” had produced a crisis that was out of control. The border figures emerged as it was revealed that the number of migrants arriving on Greek islands near Turkey had surged to about 7,000 a day over the past week.

DENIS CHARLET/GETTY Many of the migrants are staying in a camp known as 'the new jungle'

Ukip MEP Steven Woolfe said: “These numbers show what those of us who regularly travel through key European ports know all too well – Britain is under siege from economic migrants camped along the French and Belgian coasts.

It is a siege that is going to get far worse over the months and years to come Ukip MEP Steven Woolfe

“It is a siege that is going to get far worse over the months and years to come. Given the extraordinary numbers of illegals travelling across the continent from Turkey and Mediterranean entry points, we can be sure the number of attempts to enter Britain will rise inexorably.” The frontline in Britain’s fight against illegal entry is Calais where more than 5,000 migrants live in a camp dubbed the “jungle”. As many as 150 refugees arrive each day in the lawless community, already awash with mafia gangs and people-trafficking cartels. Over the summer, chaos engulfed the port town as knife-wielding migrants fought pitched battles trying to force their way on to trains and trucks bound for Britain. Details of the border crisis emerged weeks after Home Secretary Theresa May pledged more cash to stem the migrant tide.

GETTY Between January and June this year 27,755 people were stopped from entering the UK

Britain has committed tens of millions of pounds and promised to send police to Calais to strengthen the flimsy border. But while security is bolstered there, criminals are trying to sneak migrants through Dunkirk and Zeebrugge. No one knows how many illegal immigrants have reached Britain but estimates put the “underground” population at 1.1 million. An Anglo-French agreement signed by Mrs May and her French counterpart Bernard Cazenueve, aims to limit access to housing and health services and target those who employ illegal migrants. It is part of a fresh attempt to convince economic migrants that Britain is not a “land of milk and honey”. But the true scale of the chaos is thought to be far worse than the figures show as thousands more are believed to have escaped detection and be here already.

GETTY Calais has become the base camp for people trying to enter