GETTY Dozens of child migrants have gone on hunger strike

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The 19 teenagers, who are aged between 13 and 17, were sent to a migrant reception centre in southern France after the Calais ‘Jungle’ camp was evacuated and destroyed by the French government in October. The isolated minors are said to be “devastated” after discovering they would have to stay in France on Thursday. Jean-Michel Delvert, a prefecture official, said the child migrants had taken the news “very badly”.

He said: “They feel like their life is falling apart and that the door to the UK has been closed for good. They are crushed and desperate but say that they will not give up on their UK dream. Some of them haven’t eaten anything since Thursday night.” The local official said that two of the migrants had been rushed to hospital for exhaustion on Friday. He said: “We’ve tried to tell them that there is still hope. But first, we need to prove that they have close relatives waiting for them in the UK."

GETTY The 19 UK-bound children are from Afghanistan

Mr Delvert added that one of the child migrants had been badly injured and taken to a nearby hospital after a violent fight broke out between the angry UK rejects on Sunday night.

I haven’t seen my family for 14 years and I miss them Child migrant

But the Afghan youngsters are not the only ones whose dream of reaching Britain has been shattered, as out of the 50 Britain-bound Eritrean minors who were sent to a reception centre in Provence following the Jungle’s closure, only 10 have been granted sanctuary in the UK. The Eritrean youths claim that French and UK officials are “ignoring their plight” and have abandoned them. One child migrant told the French daily France Bleu that he did not understand why his asylum claim had been rejected.

GETTY One minor said he was suicidal and complained that all he can do in the centre is eat and sleep

Calais Jungle Camp: Before and After Fri, November 11, 2016 Extraordinary photographs show life in the last days of the Calais 'Jungle' refugee camp at the end of October, alongside the current scene as it stands today. Play slideshow 1 of 24

He said: “My brother lives in the UK. I haven’t seen my family for 14 years and I miss them.” Another minor told the daily that he was “suicidal” and that the reception centre was a “golden cage” where all he did was “eat and sleep”.

GETTY Jean-Michel Delvert said their migrants feel like the door to the UK has been closed for good