Mosque - a large green tent - comes after a 'school' was set-up and


The controversial makeshift camp in Calais where thousands of migrants have set up home now boasts its own mosque, shops and a telecoms hub where mobile phones can be charged.

Known as 'The Jungle', the site currently houses more than 3,000 migrants and boasts an abundance of amenities - including prayer mats made from flattened cardboard boxes - after enterprising residents used discarded wood, plastic sheeting and tents to build makeshift facilities.

The sprawling camp is the base from which the migrants depart every night in an attempt to storm the Channel Tunnel and cross into Britain – something which around 600 successfully managed last night and which hundreds more will try this evening.

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Makeshift: The makeshift camp in Calais, northern France, where thousands of migrants have set up home while they desperately try to flee Europe for Britain now boasts its own mosque made from water bottles and includes prayer mats made from flattened cardboard boxes

Pop-up shop: The camp, known as 'The Jungle' - in which more than 3,000 migrants are currently staying - also has its own convenience shops, set-up and run by one of the migrants, which sells everything from soft drinks and dried foods to SIM cards, razors and water

Charging: The run-down Calais camp also boasts electricity points where mobile phones can be charged on multi-sockets adaptors

Electricity: Migrants from charge their mobile phones on multi-socket adaptors, powered by a generator, at The New Jungle camp in Calais

From washing their clothing in buckets to waiting for food hand-outs from passers-by, life in the 'Jungle' is becoming increasingly routine for many of the migrants who have now been sleeping rough there for the past few weeks.

Some of the migrants manage to sleep in home-made tents and most are able to collect water from a constantly gushing pipe, however sanitation at the camp is dire with no refuse collection and insufficient portable toilets.

The migrants spend their days gathered in the camp – sometimes attending the makeshift mosque - while patiently waiting for their guaranteed meal of the day, which is provided by local authorities.

At nightfall, they form into groups and head towards the Tunnel entrance, hoping desperately they can cross into Britain.

While the 'Jungle' started as a small community of migrants, it has grown massively over the last couple of weeks and now includes its very own shops, which sell everything from SIM cards, water and soap to razors and soft drinks for 50p a can.

It also boasts its own mosque – a large green tent with Arabic signs painted on - where Muslims gather every day.

A similarly makeshift church, made from wooden branches and a white canvas with pictures of Jesus, candles, crosses and an African drum, caters to Christians in the African-dominated sector of the camp.

One migrant, Mima, 29, from Ethiopia, claims to be the 'acting priest' of the church, having been selected thanks to a background in theology.

She claims the church is full every day, with up to 200 people visiting at any given time.

Daily routine: A migrant from Afghanistan is shaved by a friend at the 'Jungle' in Calais as the migrants continue with their daily lives

Rations: Dried food, tinned goods, bottled water and soft drinks, razors and SIM cards can all be bought from the makeshift shop at camp

Surviving: Migrants transport firewood in a shopping cart towards the Jungle camp near Calais as they continue to live at the French port

Living: A migrant from Sudan prepares food in his tent at the Jungle camp in Calais, which now houses more than 3,000 migrants

Jungle life: A migrant, who is the owner of a small makeshift shop made from wood and sheets at the run-down camp, talks on his phone

Sleeping rough: Many of the migrants stay in tents or under makeshift shelters at the camp as they continue to inhabit the French port

Chaos: While around 3,000 migrants have been confirmed as living at the ‘Jungle’, charities believe many more are sleeping rough on site

Take control: Former government adviser Nick Pearce has said Britain should offer to take in some of the refugees staying at the camp

Meanwhile, Zimako Jones, a Nigerian aged in his 20s, has set up a school for youngsters at the camp.

The 'Secular School of Dune Way' ('L'Ecole laique du Chemin des dunes') has a low canvas ceiling, a few tables where some 20 students can sit three by three, a traditional blackboard and wall posters of basic French verbs: to be, have, eat and drink.

Mr Jones, who fled his native country over 'political problems', built the camp from branches and abandoned wood panels transported to the camp in supermarket trolleys.

Speaking in fluent French, he said: 'Personally I am not trying to make it over onto the other side,' before adding that he has plans for a secondary school and an infirmary at the camp.

A rota with the names of Calais locals volunteering to teach is posted outside the makeshift school.

While most migrants have their sights set on Britain, some of the volunteers want to equip the migrants with enough French to support an asylum request in France.

'They need to have contact with French people, for them it is very important. Those that learn are doing it because they want to stay,' said Veronique Soufflet, an insurance sector worker in her 40s.

While the days are largely spent sleeping, praying and learning, there is also 'downtime' in the evenings, with attempts at leisure activities made.

One sign advertises 'cricket, football, volleyball & Bushkasi on bikes' - the latter being the Afghan sport in which players on horseback try to drag the carcass of a calf or goat into a goal.

There is also a big blue rectangular tent within the camp, known as the 'disco tent', which belts out Ethiopian music, as well as well-known British and American hits such as Michael Jackson's Billie Jean.

Refuge: A group of young African men are photographed at an Emmaus-run assistance centre for migrants in Paris, which has been occupied by its residents since dawn

Sit-in: 50 migrants, mostly of Eritrean and Sudanese origin, blocked access Emmaus-run assistance centre as part of a protest to denounce their living conditions, which they compared to 'detention'

The Emmaus shelter near the Hippodrome de Vincennes in the east of Paris was blocked by migrants today

No entry: The migrants, housed in the centre since June after they were evacuated from various camps in the capital, are preventing Emmaus social workers from entering the site

Blocked: A group of young African men sit near the locked gate of an Emmaus-run assistance centre for migrants in eastern Paris which has been occupied by its residents since dawn

While around 3,000 migrants have been confirmed as living at the 'Jungle', charities believe many more are sleeping rough at the camp.

Former government adviser Nick Pearce has said Britain should offer to take in some of the refugees in a bid to resolve the crisis, adding that UN officials must to be brought in to register migrants massed at the French port in order to keep track of their movements.

He suggested this would pave the way for a deal between the French and British authorities that would be similar to the agreement struck ahead of the closure of the Sangatte camp in 2002.

Mr Pearce worked as an adviser to former Home Secretary David Blunkett at the time of the Sangatte emergency.

He said the present government should 'dust off the Sangatte playbook'.

'The Home Office should remember how a similar crisis at Sangatte was resolved in 2002: by doing a deal with the French government,' he added.

'We should again bring in the UNHCR to register migrants, offer those seeking refugee protection a proper process for applying in France for access to places on the UK's refugee resettlement programme and give those with family members in the UK a 'work visa' to enable them to work without calling on public funds.'

Mr Pearce, now head of the IPPR think tank, conceded the British public 'will take some convincing' of the approach.

'But it would be the humane, as well as practical, thing to do,' he said. 'And if ministers had the courage to do it once before, they can do so again when circumstances demand it.'

Squalor: A migrant washes his clothes as another collects water at a camp near Calais earlier this morning

Migrants receive their food rations distributed by the Banque Alimentaire of Calais earlier this morning

People line up for food rations distributed by the Banque Alimentaire of Calais at a migrant camp earlier today

Massive queues: Migrants line up to receive food rations at a migrant camp in Calais this morning

Ismael Nazimi, 40, who lost his left hand in Afghanistan, makes a makeshift shelter at a camp near Calais

Fresh images of the migrant camp emerged as it was revealed customers planning to travel on the Eurotunnel Le Shuttle service from Folkstone to Calais today faced frustrating two-and-a-half hour delays as a result of an 'unplanned tunnel inspection'.

Vehicle-carrying passenger trains running from Britain to France were held as officials ensured the route was clear, the service's official Twitter account said.

Services running in the opposite direction were subject to hour long delays, it added.

This morning's two hour delays came just hours after a 200-strong organised gang of migrants were filmed chanting 'open the borders' and demanding to be allowed to walk to Britain.

A French riot officer was hospitalised yesterday after he was left with a lacerated face and head as police were pelted with stones as 1,000 people were stopped at the fences

Despite the resistance, a record 700 migrants reached the main train terminal, Eurotunnel admitted.

Police said that around 1,700 people in total had tried to breach the 15-mile ring of steel surrounding the Channel Tunnel to get to Britain on Sunday night - around one in four of all people living in the 'Jungle' camp on the edge of Calais.

Eurotunnel, the company which manages the Tunnel, yesterday demanded more action from France and the UK to stop to 'organised' migrants storming their terminal 'at will' every evening.

Shadow justice secretary Lord Falconer will visit the French port to discuss the situation with Eurotunnel officials and the Road Haulage Association.

A Labour spokesman said: 'No UK Government minister has visited the Eurotunnel railhead to see first-hand the problems faced by the rail operator because of the failure to get to grips with migrants in northern France.'

Tents: Dozens fo migrants hoping to get to Britain camp out in Calais, northern France this morning

A migrant washes his face at a camp near Calais earlier today. He is part of a group trying to reach Britain

A young girl is seen among a group of migrants washing at a camp in northern France earlier today

Every evening scores of migrants who've been waiting at this camp in northern France try to cross into the UK

Migrants use a water tap to wash at a rubbish-strewn clearing at a migrant camp near Calais

The RHA urged Mr Cameron to visit Calais and see what lorry drivers are experiencing, as pressure mounts on the Government to secure a long-term solution to the crisis.

RHA chief executive Richard Burnett said: 'Without witnessing the mayhem at Calais first-hand, neither the Prime Minister nor his advisers can fully grasp the severity of the situation.

'I have therefore issued an invitation to David Cameron to travel with him across the Channel to see for himself the appalling conditions that drivers are facing.'

The news comes as France's Interior Minister today admitted that increased security alone would not solve the Calais migrant crisis - while also pleading with the British to 'do more'.

Bernard Cazeneuve's words followed another long night around the Channel Tunnel in Calais, where hundreds of would-be asylum seekers fought running battles with the police as they tried to get to the UK.

'It's completely unrealistic to think we're going to resolve a humanitarian tragedy which causes disorder all over the world, with security measures,' Mr Cazeneuve said in an interview in the influential LaCroix newspaper.

'While (security) is necessary, it's not enough. The solution to this crisis has to be global. We have to also work with the countries of origin - notably Niger.'

Mr Cazeneuve said he hoped to organise a joint visit to the African country with French, British, Spanish, Italian and German ministers, as well asEU migration commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos.

'I'm currently working to make this visit happen in the coming weeks,'Mr Cazeneuve said.

The queue of migrants stretches into the distance yesterday as they wait for a meal of millet and prunes at the makeshift 'Jungle' camp

Two policemen watch over the Eurotunnel tracks with binoculars to prevent migrants from accessing them on the outskirts of Calais

Migrants walk towards the Eurotunnel site as the night falls in a bid to try and cross the fences to the tracks on the outskirts of Calais

Migrants gather under trees and light a fire to keep warm near to the Eurotunnel site in Calais, northern France, yesterday evening

Three migrants sit by a roadside as darkness falls near to the Eurotunnel site in Calais, northern France, as the crisis continues

A migrant keeps his distance from the French Police shouting at them to leave the road which leads to the shuttle where they try to cross the fences to gain access to the Eurotunnel tracks on the outskirts of Calais

The pictures reinforce comments made by French minister Bernard Cazeneuve, who said better security alone would not solve the crisis

Storming the tunnel: Migrants were seen trying to make their way to the UK via the Channel Tunnel in Calais yesterday evening. An 'unplanned tunnel inspection' delayed Eurotunnel services this morning

'Unplanned': Vehicle-carrying passenger trains running from Britain to France are currently being held as officials continue to ensure the route is clear, the service's official Twitter account confirmed.

Frustrating: Customers planning to travel on the Eurotunnel Le Shuttle service from Folkstone to Calais are facing two and a half hour delays today as a result of the 'unplanned tunnel inspection'

There are large groups of people fleeing Niger - one of the poorest countries in the world - among some 5,000 illegal migrants currently sleeping rough in the Calais area.

All are hoping to get to the UK, where they will claim asylum or else disappear into the black economy.

Calling on Home Secretary Theresa May to do more, Mr Cazeneuve said:'I think we need to go further, and I've asked my British counterpart for an additional effort by her services.'

He said the authorities in European point-of-entry countries such as Italy also needed to distinguish between asylum seekers and illegal immigrants who were simply moving for economic reasons.

'Europe's efforts to combat illegal immigration networks must be reinforced,' said Mr Cazeneuve. 'We must also show solidarity and share the hosting of asylum seekers.'

Mr Cazeneuve's words are likely to disappoint Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, who has already announced that the British government has 'got a grip'on the Calais migrant crisis.

Following some 1,700 intrusions in the Channel Tunnel overnight on Sunday to yesterday, Mr Hammond said that officials from the UK Border Force were now working inside the Eurotunnel control room in Coquelles.

Mr Hammond yesterday said: 'I think we have got a grip on the crisis. We saw a peak last week, since when the number of illegal migrants has tailed off.'

Observing: Migrants walk along a road leading to the Channel Tunnel in Calais last night while police look on

Waiting: A migrant waits for an opportunity to cross the fence blocking access to the Channel Tunnel tracks last night. Extra security guards have been stationed at Calais to try to tackle the migrant crisis

Moving them on: Migrants - including young children - are moved away from the perimeter fence of the Eurotunnel site in Calais, as French police make their nightly sweeps of the area yesterday evening

In wait: An Eritrean mother waits with her child for an opportunity to cross the fence and reach the tracks

A migrant mother holds her child as she sits on the grass with other migrants near Calais earlier this week

New fences started to be built around the Channel Tunnel security area yesterday, while more sniffer dogs are also set to be deployed to find those trying to break in.

Lorries have repeatedly been targeted by migrants desperately trying to reach Britain.

The crisis is said to have cost the economy millions of pounds as hauliers are forced to dispose of contaminated goods and wait in lengthy queues on the M20 in Kent.

A number of measures were unveiled after plans to send extra sniffer dogs and fencing to Calais were labelled a 'sticking plaster'.

Landlords who fail to remove illegal immigrants who do not have the right to live in the UK - or who do not carry out checks on their status before renting out properties - could face up to five years in jail.

The measures will be included in the upcoming Immigration Bill, with the aim of making it more difficult for migrants to live in the UK after their visas have expired or applications for asylum have been rejected.

CHILDREN ARRIVING IN UK ALONE TO CLAIM ASYLUM UP 50% IN YEAR The number of unaccompanied children seeking asylum in Britain has risen by almost 50 per cent in the past year, it was revealed today. There were a total of 1,986 asylum applications from migrants aged under 18 in the year ending in March. This was an increase of 46 per cent compared with the previous year's tally of 1,356. Unaccompanied children now make up almost in in ten of all asylum applications. Dozens of them were under the age of 14 arrived in the first three months of 2015. A total of 70 claims were made by girls - the highest quarterly figure since the end of 2010. It emerged last week that the number of young migrants in Kent County Council's care has risen sharply in the last three months, leaving it with a £5.5 million funding gap in care costs. The local authority was supporting around 220 unaccompanied asylum-seeking children under the age of 18 in March last year, which rose to 368 in March this year. The figure stood at 629 on Friday. County council leader Paul Carter said last week that the 'massive logistical exercise' of supporting those aged under 18 who make it to the UK is putting an 'enormous strain' on children's social services. Advertisement

French police officers escort migrants alongside a road near the Eurostar train tracks in Calais last night

A migrant waits for an opportunity to cross the fence leading to the tracks as French police try to block access

A large group of migrants wait for an opportunity to cross the fences leading to the Channel Tunnel tracks

Desperate: Police said that around 1,700 people in total had tried to breach the 15 mile ring of steel surrounding the Channel Tunnel to get to Britain on Sunday night

A consultation will be held on changing rules to remove taxpayer support for more than 10,000 failed asylum seekers living in Britain with their families.

However, both policies were already being worked on before the situation at Calais worsened.

While the Calais crisis continues, dozens of young men living at a separate migrant camp in Paris today seized control of the complex in protest at conditions they described as little better than those at a 'detention' centre.

Roughly 50 migrants, of mostly Eritrean and Sudanese origin, blocked the entrance to a shelter near the Hippodrome de Vincennes in the east of Paris to denounce their living conditions.