Police in Calais have staged a protest at insufficient funds needed to cope with the estimated 2,000 British-bound migrants massed in their town.

Up to 500 officers blocked a road near the port, triggering long delays for cars and lorries trying to board ferries to Britain.

The police union is complaining they do not have the manpower to handle the frequent outbursts of violence between rival gangs of refugees in the northern French port.

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Police in Calais have staged a protest at insufficient funds needed to cope with the estimated 2,000 British-bound migrants massed in their town

Up to 500 officers blocked a road near the port, triggering long delays for cars and lorries trying to board ferries to Britain

The police union is complaining they do not have the manpower to handle the frequent outbursts of violence between rival gangs of refugees in the northern French port

The police were joined by farmers and landlords also angered at their property being occupied by migrants waiting to sneak aboard lorries and ferries to the UK

They were joined by farmers and landlords also angered at their property being occupied by migrants waiting to sneak aboard lorries and ferries to the UK.

A statement from the police union Syndicat General de la Police said: 'In the space of a few months, the migrant numbers have quadrupled in Calais.

'The police have had no choice but to abandon their public service mission, as a result of the lack of resources and above all staff.

'The continued flow of migrants traps the local economy in an unprecedented crisis, and businesses are threatened.'

French authorities estimate that there are around 2,000 illegal migrants, mostly from Sudan and Eritrea, waiting in Calais to seek asylum in Britain.

Tensions have been mounting in recent months as hundreds more refugees fleeing war zones in the Middle East and poverty in Africa flood into the town.

Mass brawls between rival gangs have left more than 70 people injured during July and August.

Two weeks ago, Home Secretary Theresa May promised to give France £12million tighten security in Calais after 250 illegal immigrants stormed the ferry terminal hoping to make it across the Channel.

Scores of migrants were turned back after storming a P&O ferry to Britain earlier this year

Migrants have been known to make breaks for ferries and lorries in attempts to make it across the Channel, but are usually unsuccesful

French truckers have also threatened to blockade the port of Calais in protest at steep fines imposed for migrants found hiding in their lorries.

Haulage firms are fined £2,000 for each illegal immigrant they bring across the Channel from France.

Calais mayor Natacha Bouchart also recently threatened to block the ferry port to all traffic unless Britain did more to help her town tackle the crisis.

Ms Bouchart wants the UK border to be moved from Calais to Britain, and for British Prime Minister David Cameron to visit her town.

She recently blamed the UK's 'generous' state benefits for refugees for the squalid migrant camps in her town.

She said: 'Calais is a hostage to the British. That's enough. It's no longer tenable. It's necessary to renegotiate these accords. We're not here to do their job.'

Police union chief Gilles Debove said of yesterday's police protest on RMC radio today: 'Our message is clear, it's a pacifist and republican demonstration, because the situation is changing.

'The number of migrants is increasing, but we are still working with the same number of staff.

'We have on average 20 or 22 police on duty. But at certain times, such as Saturday and Sunday mornings, there are only four, and four is not enough.'

One unnamed officer phoned the station to add: 'These are not the conditions in which we can best provide security for the town.