A lorry driver has been “seriously injured” by two migrants who were trying to break into his vehicle for a ride to Britain at a rest stop near Dunkirk.

The Lithuanian was taking a break after several hours of driving, at a rest area in the town of Craywick in France last week, when he heard noises in his truck.

Climbing onto the roof to investigate, the driver discovered his tarp had been slashed by two migrants who had entered the vehicle, expecting a ride into Britain.

According to French media outlets, the he attempted to explain to the would-be stowaways that their behaviour would cause him significant trouble with his employer, to whom he would have to explain the damage to the heavy vehicle.

The attempt to reason with the pair failed, however, and the situation “degenerated” as they exited and proceeded to stab the driver with the blade they used to cut into his vehicle, before running away from the scene.

Suffering a “major wound” at the junction between his arm and torso, the victim was rushed to hospital by emergency services, Le Voix du Nord reports.

Migrants smash lorry driver bound for the UK over the head with a brick, hijack his vehicle, and leave him for dead. https://t.co/hBbb7lXG2I — Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) July 25, 2017

Police said the driver was “seriously injured” but has now been able to return to work, announcing that officers have opened an investigation into “intentional violence with weapons” in relation to the attack and are still looking for the suspects, who have not yet been identified.

Last week, Britain’s Road Haulage Association (RHA) issued yet another plea for authorities in France to deploy the military to migrant hotspots where policing is under-resourced, citing Normandy and Caens as areas where drivers are threatened by migrants’ violent and reckless behaviour.

In June last year, a van driver was killed on the motorway between Dunkirk and Calais by a trap aid by migrants determed to illegally migrate to the United Kingdom.

The Polish man’s vehicle smashed into two lorries that were forced to suddenly brake so as to avoid tree trunks which had been dragged into the middle of the road by migrants seeking to slow traffic and break into vehicles bound for Britain.

Dying in the blaze after his van burst into flames from the impact, the driver’s identity was difficult for officials to establish due to the severity of the burns suffered.

French police said they arrested nine Eritreans in connection with the incident — who apparently took advantage of the deadly crash to force their way on board one of the blockaded trucks.