Shocking footage obtained by Channel 4 News appears to show violence in the French port as migrants are beaten up by truck drivers in front of a patrolling security guard.

A video posted to Facebook by a Romanian truck driver on Sunday appears to show the moment a group of immigrants are discovered hiding in the back of a truck in a bid to sneak into Britain.

The truck driver tagged himself on Facebook as being in Calais this week, and a building seen in the background of the footage was confirmed as being one near the port.

A spokesperson for the Port said the security guard in the footage was not working for them.

Sneaking into the back of trucks at Calais ferry port is a major route into the UK for Syrian and Eritrean refugees, with thousands living in camps around the town.

The footage, which has not been independently verified, seems to show men being pulled from the back of the truck and kicked and punched by a group of truck drivers while a security guard with a muzzled dog looks on.

Last year, Natacha Bouchart, the mayor of Calais, said that the city was being taken hostage by migrants attempting to cross the Channel from France. She accused the British government of failing to tackle the ongoing issue – as she then posted a tweet saying: “What have we got to do for [the] English to listen?”

Channel 4 News has attempted to contact the lorry driver and the company he works for, but they have not yet responded.