A total of 15 police officers were injured as around 500 immigrants stormed through the border between Morocco and the Spanish territory of Ceuta.

The migrants broke through gates in the 20ft high fence in what local officials claimed was one of the biggest border invasion in recent years, overwhelming Spanish authorities who were trying to hold them back.

Local paper El Faro de Ceuta says 15 members of the Civil Guard were injured as they tried in vain to stop the invasion. A spokesman said the incident happened in the Tarajal area of the fence, with at least 10 members of the Moroccan armed forces also injured.

The Red Cross has also treated around 30 migrants for bone fractures and other injuries caused while trying to scale the fence, which is topped with barbed wire.

Footage released by Faro TV shows some of the migrants bloodied and bruised, but running through the streets of the city in celebratory mood. Some are holding European Union flags while shouting “Freedom! Freedom!”.

Potentially thousands of sub-Sarahan African migrants have travelled up through Morocco in an attempt to reach Europe through Ceuta and Melilla, two Spanish exclaves on the North African coast.

Ceuta’s migrant processing centre was already struggling to cope with the heavy numbers who have arrived in recent months, with an official capacity of just 512 people. It has now had to erect tents in a local sports centre to house all the new arrivals.

Last month, more than 1,000 migrants tried to storm the border fence in a single night, however none managed to get through.

The Spanish government’s office in the city said the migrants tried “to force open some of the doors in the external fence, using iron bars, wire cutters and large stones with which they assaulted Moroccan forces and (Spanish) Guardia Civil (police) agents”.