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WHILE British holidaymakers are enjoying Bodrum's beaches today, just a few miles away Turkish police are carrying dead Syrian children from the shore.

This is the desperate reality of Europe's spiralling migrant crisis.

Five children were among 12 refugees who drowned after migrant boats sank while trying to reach Greece last night, reports The Mirror.

(Image: Reuters)

The local coastguard says the Syrian refugees had crowded onto two inflatable boats which were launched in darkness in the hope of reaching the holiday island Kos.

It's a 12-mile boat journey which thousands of Western tourists enjoy each year.

For them it takes no more than 30 minutes and costs about £20.

But as these harrowing images reveal, Syrian migrants are paying with their lives.

(Image: Reuters)

The cheap dinghies carrying a total of 23 people - launched from the Akyarlar area of the Bodrum peninsula - disintegrated in the Mediterranean sea, sending those on board into the water.

The confirmed dead included five children and one woman.

In one of the most distressing images to emerge, a little boy wearing a bright red t-shirt and shorts lies face-down in the surf.

In a second, a grim-faced policeman carries the tiny body away.

The images have been shared widely on Twitter, especially in Turkey.

The hashtag "KiyiyaVuranInsanlik" - "humanity washed ashore" - became the top trending topic this afternoon.

Seven people were rescued from the disaster and two reached the shore in lifejackets.

A Turkish navy official said hopes were fading of saving the two people still missing.

(Image: Getty)

Tens of thousands of Syrians fleeing the conflict in their homeland have descended on Turkey's Aegean coast this summer to board boats to Greece, their gateway to the European Union.

Labour leadership contender Yvette Cooper has begged Britain to do more by accepting 10,000 refugees and called for a "national mission" to end the misery.

Referencing today's pictures of the dead Syrian children, the shadow home secretary said: "When mothers are desperately trying to stop their babies from drowning when their boat has capsized, when people are being left to suffocate in the backs of lorries by evil gangs of traffickers and when children's bodies are being washed to shore, Britain needs to act.

"It is heartbreaking what is happening on our continent.

"We cannot keep turning our backs on this.

"We can - and must - do more. If every area in the UK took just 10 families, we could offer sanctuary to 10,000 refugees. Let's not look back with shame at our inaction."

Overnight, migrants desperately trying to reach Britain targeted Eurostar trains because of increased security measures at the Channel Tunnel.

Passengers stranded in northern France described being "surrounded by migrants" who blocked tracks and climbed on to train carriages in their efforts to enter the UK.

(Image: National Pictures)

Two trains were forced to turn back, one to London and one to Paris, while a rescue train was sent for passengers left in "disgusting" conditions when their service broke down near Calais.

Gauri van Gulik, Deputy Europe Director at Amnesty International, called on European leaders to do more.

He said: "Europe as a whole is facing its biggest test of humanity in decades, and so far European leaders are failing miserably.

"The crisis is not people coming to Europe, the crisis is Europe’s woefully inadequate response.

"Our message to European leaders is clear and consistent – live up to your international obligations to protect those who need it.

“No more fences and razor wire. No more tear gas and stun grenades. No more forcing refugees to die in cramped, hellish conditions on perilous journeys.”

Aid agencies estimate that, over the past month, about 2,000 people a day have been making the short crossing to Greece's eastern islands on rubber dinghies.