British lorry drivers are boycotting Calais because they fear 'somebody will be killed' by illegal immigrants desperate to get into the UK.

Drivers from Maru International haulage company are avoiding the French port, where thousands have set up make-shift homes since last year.

One lorry driver who uses the cross-channel routes said he is 'frightened for his life' by migrants, who he saw breaking into the truck in front of him with a crowbar.

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Lorry driver Michael Pearson said he was boycotting Calais because he fears somebody will soon be 'seriously injured or killed' by illegal immigrants

Michael Pearson, a driver for the Yorkshire-based company, said: 'A group of maybe 20 or 30 people, crowbar in hand, broke the padlock off the truck in front, broke the security seal and opened the doors.

'If I think about it now, I'm in fear of my life and I'm not by myself on this, several of my colleagues also spoke about that.

'Their attitude, their whole goal is just to get to the UK irrespective of what damage, or damage to persons, vehicles, property they cause, it doesn't matter.

'They were raising fists, there was a bloke with an iron bar because I was blowing the horn to alert the driver in front that they were getting into his trailer. That's the bit they don't like, blowing your horn. I was terrified because I'm on my own and if you get out - you can't get out - because your life's in danger.

'It's only a matter of time before somebody is seriously injured, killed or windows are smashed and people are dragged out of their trucks. It's an unbelievable experience to go through.'

The firm's managing director, Vaughan Woolfitt, said the company would now be travelling through a Belgian port to avoid the immigrants at Calais.

Migrants were filmed storming a lorry in Calais as it made its way towards the port to travel to the UK

The migrants lined up on the side of the motorway, ready to pounce on the vehicle as it approached the port

Mr Woolfitt said: 'It is extremely intimidating and I think the French and UK authorities should be working really hard to make sure that trade is unhindered and our drivers shouldn't have to go to work fearing for their safety.'

The haulage firm's refusal to travel through Calais comes after a video emerged of migrants storming a lorry in the French port as it boarded a ferry for Britain.

The men pounced on the vehicle after lining up on the motorway and pried open its back doors when it came to a temporary halt this weekend.

The migrants stowed themselves away in the back of the lorry but are understood to have been stopped by border authorities before leaving France, The Sun reports.

Calais received a bumper sum of £12million from Britain to help increase security as thousands of migrants descended on the town last year.

Earlier this month the French police came under fire when a video emerged purporting to show them behaving violently towards migrants they caught trying to sneak onto lorries bound for the UK.

Cranking the doors of the lorry open, the men piled in to its storage container before being stopped by police

An estimated 3,000 migrants have set up make-shift homes in the French port town since last year

There are thought to be around 3,000 migrants sleeping rough in Calais after flocking to the coastal town from north Africa and beyond in the hope of a new life in Britain.

French officials have pleaded with them to consider seeking asylum in the European country rather than try to smuggle themselves across the Channel in dangerous conditions.

On May 5, Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve visited the town where he said: 'They should not try to cross illegally into Britain.

'We must make them understand clearly that asylum in France offers the best change for them.

'And those who don't lodge an application will be taken back to the borders of France.'

Calais mayor Natasha Bouchart said the reason to many migrants wanted to join the UK was because of its loose surveillance and attractive benefits system.

'They want to go to England because they can expect better conditions on arrival there than anywhere else in Europe or even internationally.

'There are no ID cards. They can easily find work outside the formal economy, which is not really controlled.

'Calais is a hostage to the British. The migrants come here to get to Britain. The situation here is barely manageable.