Giles Sheldrick, Express, June 15, 2015

The number of migrants now queuing up to enter Britain illegally has reached crisis point with 4,000 living in a crime-ridden ghetto in Calais.

Experts predict the population of the lawless community will explode this summer as the refugee crisis across Europe spirals out of control.

There are now thought to be around a million migrants looking to sneak across the Mediterranean from north Africa. For the army of asylum seekers fl eeing war-torn Sudan, Somalia and Eritrea all roads lead to the promised land of Britain.

Each day hundreds arrive in northern France, swelling the numbers of a vast tent city which has its own mosque, farm and shops. Brazen migrants openly brag how they can pass bypass our porous border controls by stowing away on lorries bound for Dover.

Alarmed that no decisive action is being taken to tackle the scourge of illegal immigration the Daily Express, which has led the way in exposing the scandal of the UK’s leaky borders, took the first British politician inside the dusty tent city, dubbed the “Jungle”, to see the chaos unfolding.

Ukip MEP Steven Woolfe said: “It’s simply shocking to see the numbers already here. “It’s not a camp anymore it’s a ghetto, a thriving community and staging post for getting to the UK.

“They don’t want to stay in Italy, Germany or France because they see Britain as the only place where it’s easy for them to get jobs, healthcare and benefits–and we have heard that from their own mouths.

“They say Britain is the only place they feel they can go and live. They know once they’re there they can settle, bring their families and will not be removed. Our leaky borders encourage people to come here.

“Until we find a strong solution on dealing with asylum seekers and illegal immigrants this will continue.”

Refugees are flocking to Calais at such a rate they now outnumber police 10 to 1–stretching flimsy security arrangements to breaking point. The violence engulfing the port town is disrupting the flow of supplies into the UK, with truckers saying their lives are at risk as migrants run amok with machetes, knives and baseball bats. Industry experts say the situation is “simply unsustainable” with £10million of contaminated UKbound produce having to be binned since the New Year.

It is feared the squat on a patch of wasteland just a mile from the ferry terminal could double in size within months.

Philippe Mignonet, the deputy mayor of Calais, said: “The number will grow, no doubt.

“The British government says it is our responsibility when they perfectly know the destination of the migrants is not Calais but England.

“We are fed up with that attitude. I more and more have the feeling they do not have the courage to come over to face the reality and talk to us.

“I feel very frustrated that I never had any contact with any English minister, not any phone call.

“By working together Calais, England and Lampedusa would help to force Europe and the United Nations to take their responsibilities.”

Police are largely helpless to prevent migrants trying to smuggle themselves into the UK, with one exasperated Border Force official saying: “The clandestines are running riot”.

The rise in organised gangs operating smuggling rackets is leading to more than 100 attempts to cross the Channel every day–double the rate of last year.

Migrant Josif, 25, fled Sudan and spent five months passing through Albania, Montenegro, Serbia, Hungary and Italy before arriving in France in his bid to reach the UK.

Describing the chaos he said: “It’s a ghetto and people are killing each other every night. The population is too high. It has created a ghetto between different nationalities.”

Mr Woolfe will prepare a dossier on the horrific scenes he witnessed and challenged other politicians to visit Calais with him.

He said: “This is a damning indictment of a failure across Europe to take decisive action. Some told me how Italian police beat them, gave them a map and told them ‘that’s the way to France’ and ultimately the UK–that’s simply shocking.”

Alp Mehmet, of MigrationWatch UK, said: “We must continue doing everything possible to prevent illegal entry into the UK including putting in place more resources for the task.”

The Home Office said: “We continue to strengthen the security of our borders to stop those who have no right to enter the UK. The maintenance of law and order on French soil is the responsibility of the French government.”