Migrants clashed with police in the French Channel port of Calais for the third night running on Tuesday, although officials said there was less violence than on the two preceding nights. Riot police used water cannon and teargas to disperse migrants who thrown stones at them and set a pallet on fire.

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"It was much calmer than the previous nights since, rather than 300 teargas grenades being fired to restore order, only about 60 were fired at the beginning of the night," Interior Ministry spokesperson Pierre-Henry Brandet said on Wednesday.

Some 250 police officers have been deployed to stop migrants entering a residential area next to the notorious "Jungle" camp.

Householders have complained that some were entering gardens to find material to block lorries in the hope of mounting the lorries and crossing to Britain.

Calais's migrant population doubled between June and August as the number of refugees entering Europe swelled.

Although most seek asylum in Germany or Sweden, some continue to France with the aim of going to the UK.

Sunday and Monday night's clashes resulted in about 20 police being suffering light injuries and at least one migrant being hurt.

Last week about 1,450 migrants were moved out of the Jungle to centres across France, leaving about 4,500 still in the camp.

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