Travel chaos is set to return in Calais in the coming weeks after a giant ferry firm announced today that it was set to sack 400 French workers.

Danish firm DFDS revealed that it would lay off two thirds of the 600 employees currently working at MyFerryLink, raising the prospect of more wildcat strikes by union hardliners.

Strikes which shut down cross-Channel services caused gridlock at the French port, allowing would-be migrants to jump on to lorries in a desperate bid to make it to Britain.

Today DFDS claimed that it had 'saved' 200 jobs at MyFerryLink, which is owned by the company but run by a workers' co-operative called SCOP Seafrance.

Sacked: Danish firm DFDS revealed that it would lay off two thirds of the 600 employees currently working at MyFerryLink (some employees pictured) raising the prospect of more wildcat strikes by union hardliners

Employees of cross-channel ferry company My Ferry Link listen to an address by Maitre Philippe Brun, the lawyer representing Scop SeaFrance in Calais today after a strike triggered severe transport disruption

Hiding: A migrant attempts to smuggle himself in the undercarriage of a lorry at Calais after wildcat strikes caused travel chaos

Sneaking on board: A migrant climbs up into the back of a lorry while a friend looks on

Climbing: Multiple migrants jump out of the back of a lorry after being apprehended by a policeman

It was the prospect of upcoming redundancies which sparked the mayhem at Calais yesterday, leading to the cancellation of ferries and Eurostar services.

DFDS said in a statement: 'After taking the necessary time to consider the interests of all stakeholders, DFDS confirms that it filed an offer today to the administrators of SCOP Seafrance.

'If accepted, this offer is expected to result in 202 jobs for SCOP Seafrance employees.

'It would also mean that DFDS would operate three vessels between Calais and Dover - one of the current ships on the route, plus the newly chartered vessels Rodin and Berlioz.'

British ministers had previously warned that there could be more strikes in the future if MyFerryLink workers are unhappy with managers' proposals.

Police detain a migrant accused of throwing stones at a truck during a clash between migrants and a driver

During the clash a 25-year-old migrant named Tahir was injured after being beaten with a steel bar

Camp: An area known as 'The Jungle' where lots of migrants have made their homes

Queues: Cars waiting to board a ferry at Dover this morning, after all services yesterday were shut down by strikes

Warning: Trucker Pete Alexander claimed that some migrants were carrying knives with them

Transport minister Robert Goodwill told the Independent: 'I suspect that the My Ferry Link workers are still in a bad place.

'I'd like to think this is an isolated incident and that they're now prepared to get around the table, but I think we've got more trouble to come.'

Union leader Eric Vercoutre yesterday threatened a 'long summer' of industrial action over the DFDS deal.

Eurostar trains and ferries started running again this morning but were 'very, very, very full' as companies tries to clear the backlog of passengers whose journeys were cancelled.

Eurotunnel freight trains were subjected to extra checks to ensure that lorry drivers - who say migrants are getting bolder with their efforts - were not inadvertently carrying stowaways in their vehicles.

Theresa May insisted that many migrants had been apprehended and stopped from entering Britain illegally in the past two days thanks to increased numbers of police on duty.

Smuggling: Migrants try to climb on board a lorry queuing to get to the port at Calais

Waiting: Migrants stand by the motorway hoping to jump on to a passing vehicle heading for Britain

Prime Minister David Cameron described the scenes as 'totally unacceptable'.

He said: 'In talks with the Home Secretary this morning we have been looking at whether we can put more personnel and, indeed, sniffer dog teams on that side of the Channel to make a difference.

'There is also more work being done in terms of installing fencing, not just around the port at Calais but also around the Eurostar and Eurotunnel entrance.

'All these things can make a difference and we should work with the French very closely. There is no point either side trying to point the finger of blame at each other.

'This is a strong partnership that we have in place and we should keep it that way.

Sleep: A pair of migrants seeking shelter under a motorway bridge at the side of the road

Chaos: Lorries were queuing along the motorway in Kent today as part of Operation Stack

Today lorry drivers claimed that some migrants were carrying knives during their attempted break-ins, and called for French police to intervene to stop them climbing in to vehicles.

Pete Alexander, a haulier from Rotherham, told Sky News: 'I've been coming out here for 20 years, I've never known it this bad. You can't go anywhere near Calais, you daren't.

'With these immigrants now, they've got knives and they're not afraid to use them. You can't get out of the lorry, you can't say anything to them.'

Lucas Soskinski, a driver for Polish company Elltrans, shared the frustration, saying: 'Where is the police?'

Dutch driver Martin Degrood said that police would force migrants out of one truck, and tell them, 'Go over there' rather than removing them from the area completely.

Polish trucker Martin Szczygielski, 33, said the migrant situation had reached crisis point, and lorry drivers faced daily threats of intimidation and fines.

He added: 'My friend had four immigrants in his truck and the police gave him a £2,000 fine, but it was not his fault because he checked the trailer. It's very hard and dangerous to earn a living here.'

David Cameron revealed he is considering sending more border staff and sniffer dogs to Calais to get a grip on the crisis.

The Prime Minister condemned the ‘totally unacceptable scenes’ at the port and hit back at French attempts to blame Britain’s 'black jobs market' for attracting thousands of migrants.

Labour’s acting leader Harriet Harman urged Mr Cameron to use talks in Brussels tomorrow to put pressure on French President Francois Hollande to step up efforts to tackle the problem.

While hundreds of Eurostar passengers were left stranded on both the English and French sides of the tunnel yesterday, the high-speed train company said all services were due to run as scheduled today.

A spokesman said that the trains were 'very, very, very full' as the company tried to get all passengers whose journeys were cancelled yesterday onto services today.

Up to 15,000 ticket-holders were stranded overnight as 25 Eurostar services were cancelled, with dozens of passengers spending the night in St Pancras station in London.

Stuck: Passengers waiting for a Eurostar train at St Pancras station today

Endless: Travellers have been re-booked on Eurostar trains after services were cancelled

Vanessa Magdelyns, 33, from Brussels, said she and 'at least 50' people spent the night in the station.

'I lay down to rest but no sleeping,' she said. 'It was too cold. We didn't get any blankets. When they saw that we were staying here overnight they could have helped us.'

One American tourist, who was due to travel to Paris yesterday, said: 'I don't know what we could do. There's no other choice.'

Another group of stranded travellers were the Disney Society from Loughborough University, who were heading for a trip to Disneyland Paris.

Marc Noaro, Eurostar's people and services director, said almost 3,000 passengers during a three-hour period yesterday had been rebooked onto trains running today and tomorrow.

'Passengers have been rebooked onto services running today, tomorrow and further departures,' Mr Noaro said. 'We are full both today and tomorrow - alternatively people can get a refund or rebook for a later date.

'Nobody is stranded - people are able to claim back hotel costs up to £150 if they are stuck here overnight.

'We knew that it would take a while to get back to normal, and that engineers had to replace some of the track. They needed until 6am to get that engineering work done.'

However, it was reported that London hotels had increased their prices in response to the increased demand, with price of one double room hiked from £149 to £229.

Full: Ferries started operating again this morning after being cancelled yesterday

Opportunity: Two migrants rest next to the motorway while waiting to cross the Channel

ADVICE FOR TRAVELLERS HOPING TO CROSS THE CHANNEL TRAINS Eurostar trains between St Pancras Station in London and Gare du Nord in Paris are running this morning but are 'very, very, very full'. Passengers are being asked to check in for services 45 minutes beforehand. Customers can reschedule travel plans for Thursday. Anybody needing to reschedule should go online or call 03432 186 186 to reschedule their journeys. Ticket-holders whose trains were cancelled are entitled to up to £150 to pay for a hotel room and £50 for food. Eurotunnel LeShuttle services have started running again to a normal schedule with no delays. CARS MyFerryLink ferries are running to schedule, with spaces available. P&O Ferries between Dover and Calais are running to schedule, with spaces available. DFDS Seaways services between Dover and Dunkirk are running on time. There are traffic jams on the M20. Police have put 'Operation Stack' in place until later today, diverting non-freight traffic onto the A20 and using parts of the motorway for lorries queuing to get into the port. PLANES There are no reported delays to flights between Britain and the Continent. Advertisement

A spokesman for Eurotunnel said today: 'After we resumed services yesterday, we ran an enhanced freight service through the night to clear the backlog.

'We are systematically searching every truck that comes into the terminal on the French side to ensure it is clear of migrants before it enters the tunnel.'

He added that the searches involved visual checks, carbon dioxide detectors and sniffer dogs, with 14 lanes of traffic dedicated to carrying out the checks.

A Calais police source told MailOnline: 'There are still huge tailbacks, and extra CRS police [i.e. riot control officers] have arrived to deal with the problem.'

He said that 50 of them were yesterday outnumbered by some 200 trade unionists who broke into the entrance of the Channel Tunnel.

They were led personally by French trade union leader Eric Vercourte who said the 'intrusion' was the start of a 'long summer' of industrial action.

'Tear gas was used, as well as baton charges, as officers tried to remove the trade unionists from the Tunnel, and also from blocking nearby motorways,' said the police source.

'An agreement was reached, and the protesters agreed to move on, but then this agreement was broken. Two protesters were lightly injured and taken to hospital.'

Three trains stuck outside the tunnel on the English side yesterday had to return to St Pancras while other trains on the French side were taken back to Paris and Brussels.

Attempts: Two migrants test the back of a lorry to see if they will be able to gain entry

Groups: Migrants keen to get to the UK have been taking advantage of the strikes

Mr Vercoutre, head of the Maritime Nord union, led ferry workers onto the tracks to block trains between England and France as part of an increasingly bitter industrial relations dispute.

The firebrand Leftist, who is also the manager of a Calais amateur football team, warned: 'If you want to have a hot summer, come to Calais!'

The union is angry over plans by Eurotunnel to sell a pair of cross channel ferries to a Danish rival, which will lead to redundancies.

Members of Mr Vercoutre's union set fire to tyres on roads approaching the Eurotunnel terminal and broke onto the tracks, forcing trains to shut down for safety reasons.

Ferry services between Dover and Calais resumed yesterday evening after the strike ended, and appear to be running on time according to operators My FerryLink and P&O Ferries.

But Operation Stack - where freight traffic is held on the coastbound carriageway of the M20 in Kent - remains in place due to the volume of lorries waiting for a crossing.

UK COULD SEND SNIFFER DOGS TO SEAL BORDER, SAYS CAMERON Action: David Cameron has pledged to tackle the border crisis by deploying Britain's resources Britain could send more border staff and sniffer dogs to Calais to get a grip on the crisis caused by migrants trying to sneak across the Channel. David Cameron told MPs that Britain has already pledged £12million to increase security at the French border and he is ‘happy for us to do more if that is necessary’. ‘They are totally unacceptable scenes that we have all been witnessing,’ he said, after holding talks with Home Secretary Theresa May this morning on what more can be done. ‘We have been looking at whether we can put more personnel and indeed sniffer dog teams on that side of the Channel to make a difference,’ Mr Cameron said. ‘And then also there’s more work being done in terms of installing fencing not just around the port at Calais but also around the Eurostar and Eurotunnel entrance. All these things can make a difference.’ But Mr Cameron stressed that all European countries had to work together to deal with thousands of migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean from north Africa to ‘stop this problem at source, [to] break the link between getting in a boat and getting settlement in Europe’. Labour’s acting leader Harriet Harman warned British travellers and lorry drivers are ‘facing harassment and intimidation as migrants try to do get illegally into the UK’. She added: ‘The French should be assessing them as soon as they get to Calais to decide whether they are genuine refuges or whether they are migrant workers who should be removed.’ She questioned whether the French government was talking the issues seriously enough and urged Mr Cameron to raise the issue with President Hollande. Former French employment minister Xavier Bertrand has blamed Britain's 'black jobs market' for attracting thousands of migrants to Calais, saying there is a 'problem with the English' that allows people to work in the UK without identity papers. But Mr Cameron insisted: ‘We should work with the French very closely. There is no point either side trying to point the finger of blame at each other.’ Advertisement

Militant: Union leader Eric Vercoutre has vowed a 'hot summer' for Calais as he threatens more strikes

Burning: Strikers set tires on fire to block roads and disrupt the Channel Tunnel yesterday

Emergency: Lorries were queuing down the road to Dover for miles yesterday as part of Operation Stack

90 UK OFFICIALS TO TACKLE PEOPLE-SMUGGLING GANGS A 90-strong British law enforcement task force is being set up to tackle the criminal gangs behind the migration crisis in the Mediterranean. The team will be responsible for pursuing and disrupting the operations of people smugglers paid by desperate migrants hoping to reach Europe. It will include officers from the National Crime Agency, Border Force, Immigration Enforcement and the Crown Prosecution Service. Some of the officers will be based with Europol in Sicily and The Hague, with the rest on standby in the UK ready to deploy to the region when required, Downing Street has said. The team are expected to work with countries in the Horn of Africa and along the smugglers' route to strengthen the capabilities of the authorities there to deal with the problem. A Number 10 spokesman said: 'We have got to do more to break the link between getting on a boat in the Med and getting settlement in Europe. Otherwise these vast numbers will just keep on coming.' The establishment of the task force follows a warning by the NCA that the number of migrants attempting to sneak into the UK is set to increase, driven by the flow of migrants risking the dangerous crossing from North Africa to Italy. Advertisement

The travel problems yesterday come amid a worsening migrant situation near the Port of Calais - numbers camped there have swelled to more than 3,000 since April.

Aid workers have reported a 'catastrophic' situation, with predictions that some 2,000 more migrants displaced from war-torn countries including Eritrea, Syria and Afghanistan could arrive over the summer.

Speaking in the House of Commons today, Theresa May said the UK Border Force put in place 'tried and tested' contingency plans to deal with the chaotic scenes in Calais.

She said: 'Despite the extra pressure caused by the French strikers, Border Force maintained border security by following plans to put additional staff in place to search freight vehicles passing through the affected ports during the industrial action and thereafter.

'All freight vehicles passing through the Calais ports undergo searching by both the French authorities and the UK's Border Force before boarding a ferry or train.

'During the course of yesterday's disruption and since, Border Force and the French authorities have successfully identified and intercepted a significant number of would-be migrants.'

The Home Secretary added: 'Traffic on both sides of the Channel is moving again. There will, however, continue to be a significant border security operation as the backlogs of traffic are cleared at the affected ports.

Mrs May also highlighted co-operation with France on tackling the criminal gangs that help migrants make their journey into and across Europe.

British politicians blamed the French government for failing to handle the migrant crisis by making a distinction between genuine refugees and bogus asylum seekers.

David Hanson, the shadow immigration minister, told Sky News: 'It is the responsibility of the French authorities and they are not stepping up to the plate. [Migrants] are allowed to stay without any assessment from the French government.'

Ukip leader Nigel Farage added: 'As a regular traveller by car through Calais, I've seen first hand a marked deterioration in the situation around the port.

'This will only get worse as huge numbers of people continue to cross the Mediterranean to Europe in response to a clear EU message that nobody will be sent back.

The UK has become the number one destination of choice due to the size of our employment black market and the failure to deport 75 per cent of caught illegal immigrants.'

The deputy mayor of Calais, Philippe Mignonet, yesterday reiterated calls from French politicians for the border to be moved from northern France to Britain.