Number of migrants in Calais now at 2,300 – up from 1,500 in August

A tree with names scratched in is only document that many were even here

They shun food from aid groups and cook on campfires to be sure it's halal

This is the ramshackle tent village set up by migrants near Calais as they wait for an opportunity to stow away on lorries bound for the UK.

The refugees, who hail mostly from Afghanistan, Sudan, Iran and Eritrea, have even pitched a number of mosque tents - complete with rugs and books - in which to worship on the move.

Many of them, including children, have travelled many hundreds - even thousands - of miles from their homelands, most often torn apart by war or political upheaval, in search of a better life for their families.

Amid the squalor of this camp is a tree with the names of migrants who have passed through poignantly scratched into its bark - the only lasting document that many of them were ever here.

Mosque: The refugees, who hail mostly from Afghanistan, Sudan, Iran and Eritrea, have even pitched a number of mosque tents in which to worship on the move

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Tent village: This is the ramshackle tent village set up by migrants near Calais as they wait for an opportunity to stow away on lorries bound for the UK

Peaceful: The mosques are complete with rugs and books and provide a haven away from the chaos of immigration centres where gang fights and crime are rife

Hard travel: Many of them, including children, have travelled many hundreds - even thousands - of miles from their homelands, often torn apart by war or political upheaval, in search of a better life for their families

Despite food centres set up by French aid organisations, Muslim emigres here prefer to cook their own food for fear what else is on offer might not be halal.

Scattered about the camp are a number of well-thumbed English-French dictionaries as refugees brush up on their language skills ahead of their attempt to enter the UK. But language is not the only barrier they will have to overcome when they try to illegally cross the English Channel.

French police used tear gas on crowds of migrants this week in Calais when around 300 attempted to storm lorries heading for the Channel Tunnel.

And violent clashes between rival migrant gangs competing for the best locations to board lorries are an almost daily occurrence.

In prayer: This is another mosque on the edge of the forest near Calais

Own food: Muslim immigrants, who abstain from eating the food distributed by French aid organizations in case they may not be halal, cook their own food

Poignant: At the centre of the camp is a tree scratched with the names of migrants who have passed through -the only document for many that they were ever here

These pictures emerged three days after the French government announced plans for a new centre for migrants in Calais.

Intended as a 'humanitarian response' to the growing number of people living rough in the area, the centre will offer mainly medical facilities.

But residents warned that migrants would flock to the proposed facility.

With the authorities promising legal advice for those seeking asylum in Britain, even the deputy mayor of Calais admitted it could serve as a hotspot for those seeking to cross the Channel.

Sangatte was a controversial Red Cross centre located just outside the port that acted as a magnet for thousands of migrants before it was closed following riots in 2002.

Official figures now put the number of migrants in Calais at 2,300 – up from 1,500 in August.

Violent clashes between rival migrant gangs competing for the best locations to board lorries are an almost daily occurrence.

Announcing the new centre yesterday, France's interior minister said he wanted to stop illegal camping in Calais and house asylum seekers throughout the country.

Language barrier: A well-thumbed English-French dictionary lies by a campfire. But language is not the only barrier they will have to overcome when they try to illegally cross the English Channel

On the rise: Official figures now put the number of migrants in Calais at 2,300 – up from 1,500 in August

Growing: The migrant community here is growing as more arrives with hopes of finding a better life than the ones they left behind

Bernard Cazeneuve also said migrants wanting to apply for asylum in Britain would be offered legal advice to help them with their applications.

But he insisted these measures would not encourage more migrants to arrive in Calais, as happened with Sangatte.

The facility will be housed in a leisure centre – a summer school for children – with kitchens capable of catering for up to 500 people. There is also heating, toilets and showers.

There are beds at the centre, but Mr Cazeneuve said only the most vulnerable, including mothers with children, would be allowed to use them.

Hopes: Immigrants live in makeshift tents ahead of upcoming winter and bad weather conditions in a wooded area in Calais, northern France, adjacent to Calais ferry port where migrants mainly from Afghanistan, Sudan, Iran and Eritrea try to arrive to Britain

Passing time: Many pass the time by playing football in a field next to their camp

Away from violence: Violent clashes between rival migrant gangs competing for the best locations to board lorries are an almost daily occurrence

Mr Cazeneuve backed the centre 'with one condition – that the operating rules are clear and everyone demonstrates responsibility for the security of the site, and that it is protected from savage behaviour.

'We will make sure that the building of illegal camps is stopped'.

Philippe Mignonet, the deputy mayor of Calais, said the centre could be a new Sangatte. 'Some are saying that it will and we can't do anything because Calais is already a magnet,' he said. 'Well, Calais is not. England is.

Riot: French police used tear gas on crowds of migrants last week in Calais when around 300 attempted to storm lorries heading for the Channel Tunnel

Police stepped in when immigrants in Calais cause a disturbance, using canisters of tear gas on the camps as they throw stones and sticks over the fence, the police round up the immigrants and herd them back into the camp

Hopes: Immigrants trying to make there way across the English channel into the UK attempt to jump into lorry's as they line up at Calais

'It was the same problem with Sangatte at the beginning. It was working well but it's the number of migrants which causes problems, not the migrants themselves.

'It could become a problem again at the new centre: I am not saying it will, but it could.'

He said that housing migrants in centres around France would not work as they would go straight back to the Calais camp.