Hungary has begun building a fence on the country’s southern border with Serbia, intended to stem the unprecedented flow of migrants.

The government said on Monday that soldiers had begun working on a 150m (490ft) “sample section” on the outskirts of the town of Morahalom, where a bulldozer and other heavy machinery were preparing the ground.

“A daily average of 1,000 illegal border crossers are arriving in Hungary, so illegal immigration has become a severe problem and its control a prominent task,” a joint statement from the interior and defence ministries said.

Zoltán Kovács, a government spokesman, said Hungary was committed to building the fence, which it has said will be a temporary measure.

“Construction is taking place in line with the original intentions and schedule,” Kovács said.

Hungary’s foreign minister, Péter Szijjártó had said earlier that the 4m-high fence would be built first in the areas “most exposed to the immigration pressure” along the 109-mile border between Hungary and Serbia.

About 80,000 migrants and refugees have reached Hungary already this year, about 80% of them from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.

Most request asylum, but they move on quickly to other EU countries such as Germany and Sweden before their requests are processed.