Tear gas and police baton charges were used to stop more than 1000 migrants trying to get into Britain via the Channel Tunnel today.

The vast crowd of would-be asylum seekers congregated in Calais just days before a large part of their illegal 'Jungle' camp is due to be destroyed.

'We are absolutely desperate, and need to get to England as quickly as possible,' said Khalid Zahir, a 22-year-old from Afghanistan who was among the group.

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Tear gas and police baton charges were used to stop more than 1000 migrants trying to get into Britain via the Channel Tunnel today

The migrants set off from Calais at around 9pm on Wednesday, and by midnight many were close to the undersea link at Coquelles

A spokesman for Calais police confirmed that riot control measures were used to keep the group back

'If we don't get across to England shortly then we fear that we will be moved out of Calais completely.'

They set off from the town centre at around 9pm on Wednesday, and by midnight many were close to the undersea link at Coquelles.

'Riot control measures were used to keep them back,' said a spokesman for Calais police.

'There were no recorded incursions into the tunnel. Members of the group were dispersed from the area in the early hours of the morning.'

Gilles Debove, a police trade unionist spokesman, said: 'Everything went calmly. We escorted the immigrants to stop the kind of trouble that we have seen in the town before.'

There are currently some 5,000 refugees sleeping rough in the Calais area, as they try to get to Britain to claim asylum.

The vast majority live in the Jungle, on the outskirts of the port town, but a French judge is preparing to give the green light for part of it to be demolished.

The vast crowd of would-be asylum seekers made a desperate bid to reach Britain before a large part of their illegal 'Jungle' camp is destroyed

Gilles Debove, a police trade unionist spokesman, said the immigrants were escroted to stop the kind of trouble that has been seen in the town before

Police said there were no recorded incursions into the tunnel as the group was dispersed from the area in the early hours of the morning

The Help Refugees charity said there were 3,455 people living in the affected part of the Jungle who faced being 'evicted from their homes in the midst of winter, without sufficient alternative accommodation on offer'.

A spokeswoman said: 'Our concerns remain with welfare of the unaccompanied minors.

'We have had no assurances from the French authorities that they will conduct assessments to determine best interests of these children and ensure proper safeguarding is in place before removing them from the camp and the communities they know and trust.

'We urge them to delay the demolition of the southern section of the camp until these needs are met... our concerns will be heard at the court in Lille.'

French CRS anti-riot police officers pictured patrolling the Jungle migrant camp in Calais on Sunday

There are currently some 5,000 refugees sleeping rough in the Calais area, as they try to get to Britain to claim asylum

The Help Refugees charity said there were 3,455 people living in the affected part of the Jungle who faced being 'evicted from their homes in the midst of winter, without sufficient alternative accommodation on offer'

French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said the eviction would be done 'progressively, by persuasion and with respect for people's dignity'.

The evicted migrants have been offered heated accommodation in refitted containers set up next door to the Jungle.

But many are reluctant to move there because they lack any communal spaces and movement is restricted.