Large-scale evictions of makeshift refugee camps in Calais are fuelling a rise in attempted Channel crossings as the situation for displaced people in northern France reaches a “tipping point”, charities have said.

UK Border Force intercepted what is thought to be the highest number of people in a single day on Tuesday, with 86 men, women and children arriving in Britain after boarding small boats in France.

It coincides with an imminent eviction of two major camps in Calais by the French authorities, which will see hundreds of people – including unaccompanied minors, pregnant women and young children – removed from their settlements.

It is thought the French authorities will take people to temporary accommodation in different parts of the country, but charities say many asylum seekers are making “urgent” attempts to cross the Channel before the evictions take place.

Maddy Allen, field manager at Help Refugees, told The Independent: “The idea that they could suddenly be hundreds and hundreds of miles away from the border tomorrow is probably going to increase people’s motivation to really try to get across tonight, so I think that’s why there might have been a bit of a spike this week.

“There’s also been a real shift in the weather. It feels like winter again now and I think it’s going to get harder to cross the Channel. So that combined with this imminent eviction and this sense of uncertainty.

“People are just sleeping on the side of the road in the day and then trying to cross at night. There’s this sense of urgency relating to the situation here.”

Refugee Youth Service: Helping unaccompanied children in Calais Show all 10 1 /10 Refugee Youth Service: Helping unaccompanied children in Calais Refugee Youth Service: Helping unaccompanied children in Calais One of the living sites in Calais RYS/Unaccompanied minors Refugee Youth Service: Helping unaccompanied children in Calais Unaccompanied minors in Calais learning to skate RYS Refugee Youth Service: Helping unaccompanied children in Calais Displaced people playing football in Calais RYS/Unaccompanied minors Refugee Youth Service: Helping unaccompanied children in Calais Refugee Youth Service art activity RYS Refugee Youth Service: Helping unaccompanied children in Calais Unaccompanied minor on a basketball court RYS Refugee Youth Service: Helping unaccompanied children in Calais Displaced people at their tents in Calais Refugee Youth Service/Unaccompanied minors Refugee Youth Service: Helping unaccompanied children in Calais A carton of food served to displaced people RYS/Unaccompanied minors Refugee Youth Service: Helping unaccompanied children in Calais Art activities with the minors RYS Refugee Youth Service: Helping unaccompanied children in Calais Tents in Calais RYS/Unaccompanied minors Refugee Youth Service: Helping unaccompanied children in Calais Toilets near one of the living sites RYS/Unaccompanied minors

Last month Priti Patel, the home secretary, met with her French counterpart Christophe Castaner to discuss the issue and they pledged to “intensify joint action to tackle small boat crossings in the Channel” by “drawing up an enhanced action plan to deploy more resources along the French coast to intercept and stop crossings”.

Charities on the ground said since the meeting took place there had also been intensified security in the region and increased efforts to evacuate displaced people from their makeshift encampments.

Police are said to have begun fencing off the main camp in Calais and a sports hall in the region where more than 600 people are currently believed to be residing is set to be closed on Thursday.

Clare Moseley, founder of charity Care4Calais, told The Independent: “Since Priti Patel’s meeting, [the police] have started blocking off all the areas. You’ve just got a load of people walking around, carrying all their belongings, with nowhere to go, not knowing what to do.

“They’ve said they’ll close the gym and evict [the people in]Calais, but they’ve been doing that for 10 years. It doesn’t change anything. Even closing the Calais Jungle in 2016 didn’t stop people crossing.

“All it does is put them in more danger – we need safe routes. These people just want to get their asylum claims heard.”

Calais 2018: The current living conditions for displaced people in Calais

Pierre-Henri Dumont, the Conservative MP for Calais, told the BBC he believed migrants were wrongly being told “the crossing will close” after Brexit, adding: “Smugglers are giving fake news to migrants, but it’s for them to earn money.”

He also said the UK’s asylum system should be changed to allow migrants to apply at British embassies in Europe, saying it was not possible to “monitor 400 or 500km of coast”.

Ms Allen disagreed with Mr Dumont’s claim that fears over Brexit were fuelling a rise in crossings.

“There’s a sense of urgency, but I don’t think that correlates to Brexit,” she said. “People here aren’t reading the UK news. It’s more about the conditions here and being so desperate to leave this.

“It’s getting to tipping point here. There is nowhere to put a tent up in Calais. They’re fencing up landfill sites and sand dunes. Conditions are the worst I’ve seen them in a long time. Yesterday, I saw a man lying in the sand with rats running over his face.”

But Ms Allen agreed with the idea of enabling people to claim UK asylum in France, saying it would drastically reduce the number of people trying to cross the Channel illegally.

Home Office spokesperson said: “Crossing the Channel in a small boat is a huge risk. The criminal gangs who perpetuate this are ruthless and do not care about loss of life.

Child refugees share their hopes and fears on World Refugee Day Show all 25 1 /25 Child refugees share their hopes and fears on World Refugee Day Child refugees share their hopes and fears on World Refugee Day Prisca, 14-years-old, Congo refugee in Kyaka, Uganda Prisca lives with his family in the camp. His father was killed by rebels back in the Congo. On his first picture Prisca's drawing represent the violence that he saw in the Congo, he says: "We have been in Uganda for one year now.Our life in Congo was really hard, the rebels came into our village, and raided our homes and took everything and beat up everyone. And one day my father was taken from our house by the rebels and killed, so we decided to run for our lives. I have a very strong memory of the day he was killed. He pleaded for his life in vain. In the future I just want to live a normal life, get a job and live peacefully." Save the Children Child refugees share their hopes and fears on World Refugee Day Prisca, 14-years-old, Congo refugee in Kyaka,Uganda On his second picture, Prisca has drawn of his dream to be a good driver and his love of football, he says: "The picture of the car is about my dream that I will be a good driver. The picture of a standing child with the ball is me." Save the Children Child refugees share their hopes and fears on World Refugee Day Fatima, 13-years-old, Rohingya refugee in Cox's Bazaar, Bangladesh Fatima lives with her parents, two sisters and grandfather in the camps. Her first picture shows her fears, she says: “When we first came to Bangladesh there were lots of dogs and snakes. It was scary. There were also no latrines to go the toilet. We could bring no clothes with us when we left our home, we suffered lots of difficulties. We also could not bring any cooking utensils to cook with. When we first arrived in Bangladesh a local family helped us to eat and we took shelter in their home. Gradually, over time we got the materials to build a house and things to cook with." Save the Children Child refugees share their hopes and fears on World Refugee Day Fatima, 13-years-old, Rohingya refugee in Cox's Bazaar, Bangladesh Fatima's second picture shows her dream of being a teacher says: "I want to be a teacher in the future and I want to teach girls like me. It is important to teach girls so they can become educated and they can teach others. It is important that girls become educated.” Save the Children Child refugees share their hopes and fears on World Refugee Day Mamadou, 14-years-old, Congo refugee in Kyaka, Uganda Mamadou lives with his family in the camp. On his first picture Mamadou drawings represent violence, he says: "On my picture I have drawn people fighting each other. I have drawn a gun because it is what I experienced in the DRC." Fredrik Lerneryd / Save The Children Child refugees share their hopes and fears on World Refugee Day Mamadou, 14-years-old, Congo refugee in Kyaka, Uganda On his second picture Mamadou's drawings represent his dreams of becoming a teacher and a footballer: "In my future first I need to be educated so I can be a teacher. After that, because here I learned football, I can combine that activity to play and be a teacher when there are holidays." Fredrik Lerneryd / Save The Children Child refugees share their hopes and fears on World Refugee Day Hasina, 13-years-old, Rohingya refugee in Cox's Bazaar, Bangladesh Hasina lives with her parents and four siblings in the camp. Her picture shows her fear of ghosts, she says: “I was afraid of ghosts when I first came to the camp because they make the people senseless and sometimes crazy. I saw some people acting crazy people because of ghosts, I was afraid that I might become one of them which was why I was afraid. Ghosts are what dead people become." Save the Children Child refugees share their hopes and fears on World Refugee Day Hasina, 13-years-old, Rohingya refugee in Cox's Bazaar, Bangladesh Hasina's second picture shows her dream of being a tailor, she says: "I want to be a tailor when I am older because I want to sew clothes and make my own clothes. I want to be a tailor because with the clothes that I make I can earn money. With the money that I make I hope to buy new clothes which I could buy. I could also use this money to get treatment if I became ill and help my family.” Save the Children Child refugees share their hopes and fears on World Refugee Day Beaufret, Congo refugee in Kyaka, Uganda Beaufret lives in the Kyaka refugee camp in Uganda. On his first picture Beaufret draws his father being killed back in the Congo, he says: "Here is my house. Here is the person who cut my father. Here are the others, already dead. We are jumping over them while we are running. You can see the blood when they are dead." Fredrik Lerneryd / Save The Children Child refugees share their hopes and fears on World Refugee Day Beaufret, Congo refugee in Kyaka, Uganda On his second picture Beaufret drawings represent his hope to be a doctor and his love of football Fredrik Lerneryd / Save The Children Child refugees share their hopes and fears on World Refugee Day Aleisha, 13-years-old, Rohingya refugee in Cox's Bazaar, Bangladesh Aleisha lives with her brother, sister and parents in the camp. On her first picture Aleisha drawings represent her fear of dogs, she says: "I am very afraid of the dogs. When I first came to the camps there were lots of dogs and I was really frightened. When we came to Bangladesh there were lots of dogs and I was really afraid because they could take a bite from me. I was very scared in the camps." Save the Children Child refugees share their hopes and fears on World Refugee Day Aleisha, 13-years-old, Rohingya refugee in Cox's Bazaar, Bangladesh On her second picture Aleisha's drawings represent her dream of working in the Child Friendly Space at the camp, she says: “When I grow up I want to work at the Child Friendly Space and be a staff person. I want to help other children. I want help children get better, like me, I have become educated and happier. The Child Friendly Space is my favourite place to be.” Save the Children Child refugees share their hopes and fears on World Refugee Day Fadi, 17-years-old, Syrian refugee in Za'atari, Jordan Fadi lives with his family in the camp. On his first picture, Fadi has drawn an airstrike on his family home back in Syria, he says: "We had to flee my neighbourhood and my house when there was an airstrike, like you can see here. Life in Syria was so good. We used to be in school. We used to have a home but it was destroyed. After the war started, the bombing began and the army came to our school. One day, we were playing football and they took our ball and ruined it on purpose." Save the Children Child refugees share their hopes and fears on World Refugee Day Fadi, 17-years-old, Syrian refugee in Za'atari, Jordan On Fadi's second picture his drawings represent is dream of being a footballer: "I want to be a footballer when I grow up. My favourite footballer is Messi! I have drawn some stars as well, because this is where I am going – to be a superstar!” Save the Children Child refugees share their hopes and fears on World Refugee Day Alizia, 13-years-old, Congo refugee in Kayaka, Uganda Alizia lives in the camp with her family. Her drawings represent her memories and dreams. Fredrik Lerneryd / Save The Children Child refugees share their hopes and fears on World Refugee Day Alizia, 13-years-old, Congo refugee in Kayaka, Uganda Alizia hopes to be a nurse in future, she says: "I wish we could settle in one place instead of having to move around, so that I can study, I want to become a doctor or a nurse." Fredrik Lerneryd / Save The Children Child refugees share their hopes and fears on World Refugee Day Tomal, 14-years-old, Rohingya refugee in Cox's Bazaar, Bangladesh Tomal lives with his grandparents in the camp. His parents live nearby but Tomal has chosen to live with his grandparents as the quality of teaching is better in their area of the camp. His first picture shows his fear of dogs and elephants, he says: “When I first came here, I was afraid of dogs and elephants, especially in the night time. I was so afraid of dogs as they are always barking and seem like they are going to attack you. I was also afraid of tigers roaming in the forest. Since I was not a citizen of Bangladesh and came here for the first time, I was worried about Bangladesh and the people of this country.” Save the Children Child refugees share their hopes and fears on World Refugee Day Tomal, 14-years-old, Rohingya refugee in Cox's Bazaar, Bangladesh Tomal's second picture shows his dream of teaching English: “I love to study and my favourite subject is English. I am learning English so that I can teach other people. English will help me get a job in the future. I want to teach my siblings including my friends English. I think I am doing very well and have a lot to teach younger people, so I want to teach in the future. I also have an interest in cricket and football." Save the Children Child refugees share their hopes and fears on World Refugee Day Marwa, 14-years-old, Syrian refugee in Zaatari, Jordan Marwa lives with her family in the camp. On her first picture Marwa's drawings represent her dream of being an artist, she says: “I have loved painting since I was little and I want to be a painter when I grow up. That’s why I have drawn a brush. I also love birthdays!" Save the Children Child refugees share their hopes and fears on World Refugee Day Marwa, 14-years-old, Syrian refugee in Zaatari, Jordan On her second picture Marwa has written of her dream to be a teacher, she says: "I also wrote here that I want to be a teacher as this is what I was probably going to be if I lived still lived in Syria”. Save the Children Child refugees share their hopes and fears on World Refugee Day Omar, 15-years-old, Syrian refugee boy in Zaatari, Jordan Omar lives with his family in the camp. On his first picture Omar has drawn a number of incidents from his life back in Syria: "This is a story of a military car that fired at another car carrying lots of normal people who were killed. Here is an airstrike and the house it destroyed and the dead people I used to see all on the street in my neighbourhood all the time. I never told anyone how I felt, I kept it to myself, but it made me so depressed that I wouldn’t come out of my room because I was crying. I would sometimes get bullied on the way home from school back in Syria.” Drawings include a military car shooting a normal car (bottom), an airstrike destroying a house (top right) and Omar getting bullied (top left). Save the Children Child refugees share their hopes and fears on World Refugee Day Omar, 15-years-old, Syrian refugee boy in Zaatari, Jordan On his second picture Omar's drawings represent his dreams: “I have drawn a doctor because this is what I want to be – I want to build a hospital and call it Syria. My dad hopes I will become a doctor. I also want to be a footballer. I also want to help all the refugees in the future. Like provide aid for them and help them access education because I’m a refugee too." Drawings include a house and car (bottom), a doctor (top left) and a hospital (top right). Save the Children Child refugees share their hopes and fears on World Refugee Day Farah, 13-years-old, Syrian refugee in Zaatari, Jordan Farah lives with her mother and uncle in the camp. On her first picture Farah has drawn about her love of football, she says: "I wrote I love football because I love to play with my friends and brothers and I used to play in Syria." Save the Children Child refugees share their hopes and fears on World Refugee Day Farah, 13-years-old, Syrian refugee in Zaatari, Jordan On her second picture Farah's drawings represent her dream of being a doctor: “I want to be a doctor because I want to help people and make sure they get the treatment they need or I could be a teacher. For children to reach for their dreams, they need to be able to write and read and I want to help them”. Save the Children Child refugees share their hopes and fears on World Refugee Day Mohammad. 15-years-old, Rohingya refugee in Cox's Bazaar, Bangladesh Mohammad lives with his grandmother, aunt and younger brother. His parents separated from the family and live in Malaysia. On his picture Mohammad has represented a number of his hobbies and dreams including teaching, football and maths. Save the Children

“We are working closely at all levels with the French authorities to tackle this dangerous and illegal activity. In addition, Border Force cutters are patrolling the Channel and we have already deployed equipment including drones, CCTV and night vision goggles."

A spokesperson for the Calais authorities said: "There is no connection between the situation in Calais and the sea crossings. These crossings are the result of organised networks that make migrants take major risks.