David Cameron to send sniffer dogs fencing to France as PM admits crisis likely to last the whole summer

British police also forced to round up groups across the south of England as they are stretched to the limit

Up to 200 Illegal immigrants have made it into Kent - two were seen clinging to the top of a lorry heading into UK

Hundreds of migrants again rushed Channel Tunnel as French police armed with batons were again overwhelmed


Clinging to the top of a lorry as it drives off in to Britain today, these two men are part of another wave of migrants who stormed the Channel Tunnel during a fourth night of chaos in Calais.

The refugees hid from police on the roof as it passed through the tunnel on a train at up to 100mph and were still on top as the HGV drove on to the M20 at Folkestone at around 60mph this morning.

In France police with batons and tear gas fought a losing battle as 1,000 desperate migrants again overwhelmed them last night as they tried to get to trains and lorries heading to the UK with 6,000 trying since Monday.

At one point a man dragged a young child over a barbed wire fence with him while nearby a mother and her six-year-old child clutching a teddy bear were seen crawling through a hole in a fence.

As David Cameron today admitted the migrant crisis will last all summer the deputy mayor of Calais accused him of being 'racist' and 'ignorant', warning him that the number of refugees in the French city is likely to double to 10,000.

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On British soil: Two migrants cling to the roof of a freight truck as it leaves the Eurotunnel terminal in Folkestone in the early hours of this morning

Deadly battle: Nine people have now died trying to get to the UK in the past month as they throw themselves at trains and lorries heading through the Channel Tunnel. The men on top of this lorry swept away on to the M20, where HGV speeds reach 60mph

Desperate measures: Yesterday evening a young migrant pulls a young girl over a barbed wire fence before helping her drop to the ground close to the high speed tracks

Philippe Mignonet told Channel 5 News the Prime Minister's comments on 'swarms' of migrants in Calais were: 'Racist words or extremist words – I just can't accept them.'

He added: 'It's always the same: the French authorities are always blamed for what's happening around the tunnel, around the port [and] in the city.

'If one day they have 10,000 [migrants] that will be a bloody disaster for them first and for the city afterwards. It's already a disaster, an economic disaster for the city.'

Last night groups again managed to get through the Channel Tunnel - up to 200 in four nights - after a day where police were stretched to breaking point with the number of stowaways in lorries. One even risked his life by hiding under a horsebox for two hours.

A dozen were found stashed in the back of a beer truck on the M20 near Ashford yesterday afternoon while groups were also held across Kent, Sussex and even at M25 services. Three men were seen slashing a hole in the canvas side of a lorry and running away in Stourbridge, West Midlands.

Chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee Keith Vaz said: 'This is a real crisis and it is a crisis that in the end is going to affect not just the South East of England but also every part of the country.'

David Cameron flew back to Britain this morning as he was urged to get a grip on the chaos at Calais.

The Prime Minister this morning chaired a meeting of the Cobra emergency committee.

Speaking in Downing Street Mr Cameron said the situation was 'unacceptable' and that he will be speaking to French president Francois Hollande later today.

He said: 'This is going to be a difficult issue right across the summer. I will have a team of senior ministers who will be working to deal with it, and we rule nothing out in taking action to deal with this very serious problem. We are absolutely on it. We know it needs more work.'

He said Britain would work 'hand in glove' with the French to tackle the problem.

'The situation is not acceptable and it is absolutely this government's priority to deal with it in every way we can. We have got people trying to illegally enter our country and here in Britain we have got lorry drivers and holidaymakers facing potential delays.

'We are going to take action right across the board starting with helping the French on their side of the border. We are going to put in more fencing, more resources, more sniffer dog teams, more assistance in any way we can in terms of resources.

'I'll be speaking with President Hollande later today. I want to thank him for the extra French police resources that have been put in that have had some effect but we are keen to offer more and work hand in glove with them to reduce pressure on that side of the border.

'Here in Kent we need to do more to help lorry drivers and holidaymakers. We are going to do everything we can to reduce the disruption, including using MoD land, and we will be looking at other options we can take as well'.

It came as police warned they were struggling to cope with the number of illegal immigrants who are fleeing lorries at motorway service stations.

Kevin Hurley, the Police and Crime Commissioner for Surrey, revealed that 156 suspected illegal immigrants had been detained at one M25 service station alone in the past three months – but scores more had escaped before police could hold them.

He said: 'This failure is putting the people of Surrey at an avoidable risk. The last time it happened at Cobham services, police caught 20.

'Given that this takes out virtually half of the 999 response capability of the county and ties up our nine prisoner vans for hours, along with dogs and the helicopter to say nothing of the county's cells, this is now a threat to my residents.

'We can't respond to their needs or patrol adequately.'

Increased security: Riot vans attempt to move away migrants last night as French authorities brought in an extra 120 riot police to bolster their overstretched 250 officers already in Calais

Link: One desperate migrant clambered across a fallen tree last night to help get access to the fence around the tunnel in his bid to get to Britain last

Migrants rush at a police cordon by the perimeter fence of the Eurotunnel site yesterday evening in Calais as it was revealed nine people have died trying to flee

Dozens of migrants yesterday waited for their attempt to bypass the police, who are now standing guard alongside the Eurotunnel terminal near Calais, France

Migrants help a young man squeeze through a gap in a fence near the Eurotunnel terminal in Coquelles in Calais yesterday evening

Losing battle: Police in France were again outnumbered as huge groups of migrants broke through their lines to get near the trains and lorries yesterday afternoon

Former foreign secretary Jack Straw said the borderless system in Europe known as the Schengen agreement, was at the heart of the problem.

He told BBC Radio 4's World at One: 'The fundamental problem arises obviously from very, very serious dislocation in countries like Syria, Iraq and the Horn of Africa.

'There's another issue, although whether the EU is willing to tackle it or not I frankly doubt, which is that the Schengen no borders arrangement, which is that within the Schengen area which is most of continental Europe they don't have any internal borders, was only ever going to work in good times.

'You now see the price that Europe is paying, as well as the United Kingdom is paying for this completely open border arrangement. They need to face up to the consequences of Schengen. My understanding is there is provision in Schengen to reinstitute border controls if it is necessary.'

Calais police union representative Gilles Debove told the programme: 'There's a real attraction for the migrants to go to the UK. There are several appealing factors.

'Firstly, in Great Britain, the migrants can work without a residency permit or identity card and they can work illegal. In France, we have a police force trained to fight against such illegal work and in the UK you don't have any police force tracking these people who work in the black market.'

Mr Cameron had been on a four-day trade mission to south east Asia that saw him visit Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam and Malaysia.

Downing Street has defended Mr Cameron's use of the word 'swarm', which came in an interview with ITV News in Ho Chi Minh City.

Under pressure: David Cameron looked tired as he arrived back in to UK today, pictured, as he was urged to get a grip on the Calais crisis

‎A Number 10 spokesman said: 'If you look at the full sentence that the PM said it was clear that he was talking about people who are seeking a better life. It was clearly talking about people.

'The point he was trying to convey was the tens of thousands that have been coming across the Mediterranean and into Europe and then seeking to come across to the UK, the scale. Asked if he regretted saying 'swarm', she said: 'It was clear what he was talking about.'‎

As two people managed to get to Britain by clinging to the roof of a lorry as he was taken by train through the Channel Tunnel, Eurotunnel claimed that they only send trains through then French police say they are clear of migrants.

When asked if this meant the French police were not properly searching trains a spokesman said: 'I can't comment on that. It is the responsibility of the French police. We have no power to remove people.'

The Calais crisis intensified last night after a day of astonishing scenes on both sides of the Channel triggered by the chaos at the French port.

Last night, 200 migrants tried to storm the Tunnel. Shortly after a shuttle train from the UK pulled in, they rushed at the point where cars leaving the Tunnel join the main road.

British holidaymakers had to swerve to avoid the crowd of migrants in the road, but a handful made it through before riot police formed a cordon. On another day of drama:

Eurotunnel dramatically scaled back its overnight freight service to reduce the opportunities for stowaways – a move which will have major implications for the UK economy, which is already losing £250million a day because of the chaos;

The UN's special representative on migration made the absurd claim that Britain's 'exaggerated' concerns about the bedlam were 'xenophobic';

Police in the UK warned that they could not cope with the number of illegal immigrants fleeing lorries at motorway service stations;

Lorry drivers on the M20 were warned that it will take 18 hours to get to the Tunnel as nearly 6,000 joined the queue last night;

Social services said it was struggling to cope with a surge in the number of children claiming asylum. The two sides of the shambles were neatly summed up in one picture yesterday. On one side of the M20 motorway, lorries bound for Europe queue for as far as the eye can see. On the other, 12 suspected illegal immigrants are detained by police after making it to Britain.

There have been about 4,200 attempts by migrants to enter the Tunnel in the past four nights and one was killed after hundreds stormed the barriers on Tuesday night.

The Army and police will join forces to tackle the intensifying Channel Tunnel crisis as Kent struggles under 'enormous strain', it emerged this morning.

Ministry of Defence barracks will be used as a lorry car park to relieve some of travel chaos triggered by the migrant crisis in Calais.

Thousands of lorries have spent days stuck on the M20 in Operation Stack, which has seen police close the motorway in both directions - costing the UK economy up to £250million a day.

Peter Harding, who runs a road haulage firm out of Haverford West, West Wales, said 90 p of his firm's business involved going back and forth to France.

But he said the cost of insurance claims and the risk to drivers meant he had no choice but to stop sending his trucks to the Channel link.

Mr Harding called for all hauliers to match his move for two or three days to send a message the current situation was not acceptable.

He admitted the move would cause 'anarchy' in the shops as fresh goods quickly disappeared from the shelves.

But he told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: 'Two weeks ago we had a box trailer, which is quite safe you would think with a padlock on the back and also a container bolt seal, and both were cut through.

'These (goods) are then rejected at the supermarket and therefore you have a big insurance claim. It's just not right, it's breaking and entering.

'All the police do is let them go and they do it to the next one and the next one.'

Meanwhile there was more chaos in Calais today as hundreds of French sailors blocked the city gripped by the escalating migrant crisis.

The roughly 300 workers from French company Scop SeaFrance are protesting against plans to sell off some of their ferries to rival Danish firm DFDS, a move expected to result in hundreds of job losses.

The huge blaze fed with petrol an tyres left roads closed and drivers stranded were forced to sit on the carriageway.

Stand off: French police block a group of migrants who are making their bid to get to the Eurotunnel site in Coquelles near Calais last night

French police try to hold their positions to block migrants yesterday afternoon as they tried to take their chance to rush through the line

French police attempt to block a migrant after he entered the Eurotunnel site, with calls for the Army to be brought in to deal with the crisis

Two migrants stormed through French police yesterday as they desperately tried to flee Calais for Britain yesterday as the chaos ran into a fourth night

No fear: In clear view of security this man scaled a barbed wire fence as dozens more managed to get through to the UK last night

Migrants attempt to overrun a police cordon by the perimeter fence of the Eurotunnel site at Coquelles yesterday evening as the chaos continues

Dozens of migrants lined the banks of the Eurotunnel site at Coquelles in Calais, as they yesterday began another night of attempting to flee France

French police hold one migrant during the siege in Calais (left) while another makes his way along the Eurotunnel tracks at Frethun

Migrants face a police cordon by the perimeter fence of the Eurotunnel site at Coquelles in Calais, France, tonight as security is upped

French police accompany two migrants through a field near the Eurotunnel site in Frethun near Calais, northern France, earlier

French police chase migrants who gathered near a closed petrol station in Calais in a bid to attempt to cross into the UK via the Tunnel

A migrant walks on the tracks near the Eurotunnel in Frethun near Calais, northern France, as police step up security to deal with the crisis

Migrants walk on the tracks near the Eurotunnel site in Frethun near Calais, despite police stepping up patrols to contain the situation

Dozens of migrants walk towards the Eurotunnel site in Calais as the ongoing crisis in the north of France continues to worsen each day

Migrants walk towards the Eurotunnel site at Coquelles in Calais, northern France, as its revealed more than 150 have made it to Britain

Mission: Many migrants admit that they have crossed Europe to get to Calais because they have family in Britain or believe 'In England they will not send me back', one said

More chaos: Striking French employees of the My Ferry Link company burn tyres as they block the access to Calais as the migrant crisis deepened

Firebrands: The roughly 300 workers from French company Scop SeaFrance are protesting against plans to sell off some of their ferries

David Cameron returned to the UK overnight after a week-long trip to the Far East and is to chair a meeting of the Cobra emergency committee to get a grip on the crisis.

The British government has resisted calls to send troops to Calais to take control of security after repeated attempts by migrants to storm the Channel Tunnel terminal at Coquelles. Instead, the Ministry of Defence is examining how assets on British soil can be used to alleviate some of the pressure.

Keith Vaz, the chairman of the home affairs select committee, told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: 'At the end of the day although we can commend the incredible work of the Kent Police, I went there on Tuesday, and the work of social services in Kent, this is something that can only be resolved by a face-to-face meeting between David Cameron, Francois Hollande and the EU commissioner.

'At the end of the day, what has to happen is the French authorities once they discover migrants who have arrived illegally in Calais, they need to deport them back to their countries rather than do what they have done which is to release them back into the countryside.'

He added: 'If you go to a summit meeting and you announce you are all going to share out the burden between all these various countries, it will send a green light to the people who are bringing these migrants over.

'This is organised criminality, it's worth billions of euros. As soon as that message goes out all those countries are going to do this, without the other measures that need to be put in place which is to tackle the problem of people crossing from Libya.'

Last night the Armed Forces were preparing to get involved in the crisis as military planners were considering moving miles of stationary lorries from the M20 and park them at Ministry of Defence sites, to get traffic in Kent flowing again.

The Ministry of Defence has been asked by the Home Office and Department for Transport to identify military-owned land around Folkestone that is free and capable of accommodating hundreds of lorries.

Eurotunnel revealed that since the beginning of the year, it has blocked 37,000 migrants trying to make their way to Britain. But images yesterday proved that migrants are successful.

Around 150 to 200 have crossed the Channel this week by breaching security fences and stowing away on Folkestone-bound trains.

The 12 suspected illegal immigrants arrested by Kent Police yesterday were found in the back of a Slovenian-registered lorry which was pulled over outside Ashford – just 15 miles from Folkestone.

Just hours later, two other men - believed to be from Iran - were found stashed in the back of a lorry as it was stopped on a busy road in the Kent town.

In West Sussex on Tuesday, a 26-year-old Sudanese stowaway was found under a horsebox at a prestigious horse show trials whose patron is the Queen.

The man, who risked his life clinging on to an axle for the two-hour journey, was arrested as horses arrived for the Longines Royal International Horse Show at Hickstead.

Douglas Hinckley, of WH Management Group, said he had 'lost count' of the number of illegal immigrants who had stowed away in horseboxes in their quest to reach the UK.

Escape: Good Morning Britain obtained this footage of a group of three migrants slashing the side of a lorry and then clambering out in the West Midlands

A dozen suspected illegal immigrants found in the back of a Slovenian-registered lorry on the M20 just outside Ashford near Kent were among those seized by police yesterday. It came as David Cameron was attacked for saying the UK was not a 'safe haven' for immigrants

Police raided another lorry in Ashford, Kent, last night only to discover two men - believed to be from Iran - hiding in the back with the goods

The two suspected illegal immigrants were questioned by police after being found hidden in the back of a haulage lorry in Ashford, Kent

Police cornered the S/K Haulage lorry in Mace Lace, Ashford, Kent, at about 6pm and found the men - believed to be from Iran - in the back

Police also detained migrants in Canterbury, Kent, as British officers stepped up patrols to help deal with the fall-out of the Calais crisis

Searches: Police in Folkestone were yesterday going from lorry to lorry hunting for migrants who may have hidden themselves under them or inside after rushing the Channel Tunnel

And the head of Kent County Council warned that social services were struggling to cope with an increase in the number of young immigrants claiming asylum.

UN SAYS WE'RE BEING RACIST: SENIOR OFFICIALS SPARK OUTRAGE BY CLAIMING UK'S RESPONSE IS 'XENOPHOBIC' A senior United Nations official triggered outrage yesterday by claiming that Britain's response to the bedlam at Calais was 'xenophobic'. Peter Sutherland, UN special representative on migration, said he was amazed by the 'absolute nonsense' being alleged over the scale of the crisis. He said: 'It is exaggerated beyond belief and it is calculated to inflame tensions in regard to the number of people coming into Britain.' Mr Sutherland – a former Irish attorney-general – is the latest in a string of UN special representatives to lecture the UK on everything from benefits policy to human rights. He told the BBC that demands for economic migrants to be kept out of the UK were 'a xenophobic response to the issue of free movement', adding: 'In my opinion, the debate in the UK is grossly excessive in terms of Calais. 'We are talking here about a number of people – a relatively small number in the context of what other countries are having to do – who are in terrible conditions and have to be dealt with by France and/or Britain.' Tory MPs said Mr Sutherland's comments were 'pathetic' and ill informed. Andrew Percy said: 'The best response assorted do-gooders in the UN can come up with, when the Government tries to secure our border and respond to the concerns the British people have, is to accuse ministers – and by extension the public – of xenophobia. It's pathetic.' Advertisement

Paul Carter said the number in the authority's care – after arriving alone at Dover – had almost doubled to 605 in the past three months, leaving it with a multi-million-pound funding gap.

Peter Oakford, Kent County Council's cabinet member for children's services, told the same programme: 'The biggest problem we have at the moment is the number of 16 and 17-year-olds coming over that we need to put through a reception centre, we need to do the assessments on these young people because they have had some very traumatic experiences.

'We need to understand who and how they are, and then we need to find placements for in the community.'

Mr Oakford said every young person had been found a placement so far but warned the council was now 'struggling'.

He said he met Government officials yesterday to come up with a revised strategy.

MPs and hauliers have called for the Army to be brought in to restore order, while Ukip leader Nigel Farage said there was a 'very real possibility' that the Channel Tunnel could temporarily close if the French authorities failed to act further.

It came as British police and border officials stepped up patrols and began lorry-to-lorry investigations in Folkestone as the chaos in Calais continued.

Police could be seen detaining several migrants close to the entrance of the tunnel yesterday before handing them over to UK border officials who will either deport them or take them to one of 12 immigration detention centres.

One witness told MailOnline: 'Police clearly had a tip off and were going lorry to lorry checking underneath and sometimes in the back of the lorries.

'Some migrants were also picked up at the Folkestone terminal. They had hidden themselves on a train through and when it stopped they tried run for it but the police were waiting for them and arrested them'.

Earlier, French police said an Egyptian man remained in a critical condition after being electrocuted when he tried to climb onto the roof of a Eurostar train in Paris, suggesting migrants may be now trying to get through the tunnel away from Calais.

David Cameron has been accused of losing control of the Calais crisis and leaving it to the French as panicked Gendarmerie were again overwhelmed by hundreds of desperate migrants who laid siege to the Channel Tunnel for the fourth night running.

Migrants have said that watching their friends die will not stop them trying to get to the UK with one saying: 'It's England or death'.

Last night, migrants were still easily breaching the 15 mile fence surrounding the Channel Tunnel as senior MPs, backed by hauliers, demanded the British Army should be sent in to restore order because the French authorities had 'lost control'.

Mr Cameron has blamed the crisis at Calais on the 'swarm of people' crossing the Mediterranean but Harriet Harman accused him of trying to whip people up against the migrants saying: 'He should remember he is talking about people, not insects'.

Speaking in Vietnam yesterday morning, the Prime Minister vowed to do 'everything we can' to stop people's holidays been disrupted by the chaos, adding: 'This is very testing, I accept that, because you have got a swarm of people coming across the Mediterranean, seeking a better life, wanting to come to Britain because Britain has got jobs, it's got a growing economy, it's an incredible place to live.

'But we need to protect our borders by working hand in glove with our neighbours the French and that is exactly what we are doing.'

THE DEADLY PATH TO BRITAIN: HOW DESPERATE MIGRANTS ADMIT 'IT'S ENGLAND OR DEATH' FOR THEM AS WAVE AFTER WAVE RUSH TRAINS AND LORRIES HEADING THROUGH THE CHANNEL TUNNEL A graphic showing how the migrant camp in Calais, northern France, is on the other side of the town and every day they either walk, cycle or hitchhike a few miles to try again to sneak across into Britain. Some are also trying to Calais migrants are willing to risk their lives every day to get to Britain by jumping on to high speed trains rushing into the Channel Tunnel. Around 5,000 are living in desperate conditions in the 'New Jungle' camp outside the French town and one admitted yesterday: 'It's England of death for me' as MailOnline can reveal in detail the route they take to the Tunnel. Each night migrants walk, hitchhike and even cycle from their camps in Calais to the port, or to the Tunnel entrance, where they try to board lorries on trains. First large groups, outnumbering the police, sprint past police to try to avoid being detained. They then either climb through holes in flimsy fencing or used old clothes tied together to form a makeshift rope and climb over. Police tend to guard gates around the perimeter rather than along the fence. Onlookers say the groups who get through then scatter widely across the railway tracks, some heading towards the tunnel entrance and others towards the Eurotunnel terminal. Those who stay near the tunnel entrance will then wait for either Eurostar or Le Shuttle trains to slow down or stop to enter the tunnel. They then either fling themselves on to the side as they pass or climb on as it slows down. At the Eurotunnel terminal gangs will target lorries queuing to be loaded on to trains. A witness told MailOnline the migrants go from vehicle to vehicle trying the back doors or trying to climb under them to see if they can cling on under it. Police will sometimes pull them away but rarely remove them from the area completely, meaning they can then try again. Once on board a train the migrants either jump off as the train enters Britain and try to flee or in other cases wait to be arrested in Folkestone so they can try to claim asylum. Advertisement

SOCIAL SERVICES UNDER 'ENORMOUS' STRAIN AND FACE £5.5M SHORTFALL AS NUMBER OF MIGRANTS DOUBLES Brazen: A migrant crawls through a hole in a fence near near train tracks yesterday as he attempts to access the Channel Tunnel in Frethun, near Calais, France, hours after another migrant died while trying to get across Social services are struggling to cope with a surge in the number of children claiming asylum in the wake of the Calais crisis, a council chief has warned. Paul Carter, leader of Kent County Council, met officials from the Home Office to highlight the impact of hundreds of minors arriving unaccompanied at the port of Dover. The number of young migrants in the local authority's care has almost doubled to 605 in the last three months, leaving it with a multi-million pound funding gap. Mr Carter said the 'massive logistical exercise' of supporting those aged under 18 who make it to the UK is putting an 'enormous strain' on children's social services. 'We've got two issues,' he said. 'One is having to contend with Operation Stack and the main arterial route the M20 being closed in both directions. 'But also, local government has statutory duties to provide care for unaccompanied minors under the age of 18 and those numbers have escalated dramatically in the last four to five weeks. 'That is connected with more migrants getting onto trains and in some cases boats and presenting at Folkestone or Dover seeking asylum. If they are under 18 we have to care and provide for them. 'About a year ago it was running at about 238 unaccompanied minors under the age of 18 that we were supporting. That is now well over 600 and rising day by day, week by week.' He said the council faces a shortfall of £5.5 million in care costs. 'We get a Government grant, but it is never quite enough to meet the total cost of supporting those young people,' he told BBC Radio 4's World at One 'Now the numbers have escalated to these very significant levels, we are really struggling to be able to support these vulnerable young people and have asked the Home Office and the Department for Eduction for additional support, with the potential to have a national dispersal system or a voluntary dispersal system with other authorities around the country, because our social services, frontline social workers, are working flat-out supporting this increase in number.' Advertisement

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT: HOW THE UK DEALS WITH MIGRANTS ARRIVING FROM CALAIS THROUGH THE TUNNEL How many migrants are in Calais? Around 5,000 people are now thought to be there which is double the number estimated last autumn. Where have they come from? Most are thought to have arrived from countries including Eritrea, Syria, Afghanistan, Somalia and Sudan. How many migrants are making it across the Channel? There have been 4000 attempts to get to the tunnel since Monday. Up to 148 people are thought to have reached Britain. Since the beginning of June more than 400 immigrants have been found hiding in vehicles by British police. That is 15 times the number recorded for the rest of the year. Eurotunnel said it has blocked 37,000 migrants trying to make their way to Britain this year. What happens if they are stopped before they leave Calais? Any migrants who are stopped before attempting to cross are the responsibility of the French. What happens to them if they reach the UK? If illegal immigrants are discovered by police or border force officers there is first a criminal investigation. If the police are not needed the matter is passed on to the home office Then what happens? If immigration officers decide individuals are in the UK illegal and they do not claim asylum they are served with removal notice papers. They can either be detained or bailed before deportation Where are they detained? Most people arriving from Calais go to the immigration removal centre in Dover, Kent, but there are 12 centres around the UK in total. What if someone claims asylum? Immigrants who want to stay in the UK as a refugee can apply for asylum. There were 25,020 asylum applications in the 12 months to March 2015. Advertisement

July 2015: A snapshot of the chaos across the South East as police say: We just cannot cope

By Stephen Wright

Police cannot cope with the number of illegal immigrants who are piling out of lorries at motorway services, a crime commissioner warned yesterday.

Kevin Hurley, who is the Police and Crime Commissioner for Surrey, said the Calais migrant crisis was placing a huge strain on resources and putting public safety at risk.

He revealed that 156 suspected illegal immigrants had been detained at one M25 services alone in the past three months, but scores more had escaped before police could hold them. He added that he was in 'no doubt' that thousands more have vanished after jumping off lorries at motorway services across the South East, particularly those on the M25 and linked motorways.

'This is an escalating problem and the police cannot cope,' the former Scotland Yard commander told the Mail. 'The public are being put at risk as a result of this complete failure to secure our borders. It is a national scandal.

Police discover a group of 12 suspected illegal immigrants hiding in the back of a haulage lorry travelling northbound on the M20, Kent

'There is also a terrorism risk here, as many of the people coming here are from places of interest to the security services such as Algeria, Iraq and Syria. Who is to say they are not terrorists themselves?' Meanwhile a council chief warned that social services are struggling to deal with a surge in the number of migrant children claiming asylum after arriving alone at Dover.

The head of Kent County Council said the number of young migrants in the authority's care has almost doubled to 605 in the past three months, leaving it with a £5.5million funding shortfall.

Kent Police refused to reveal how many illegal immigrants have been detained at motorway services in its area, saying the Home Office was the 'lead agency' on immigration issues. The Home Office said it did not have the necessary data to comment.

But Mr Hurley said that Kent Police 'have obviously got a problem because they are not answering the questions'.

He also said Home Secretary Theresa May should take 'full responsibility' for the fiasco, adding: 'Anyone who looks at the current debacle of protecting our borders probably shares the same exasperation as me.

These two men, believed to be from Iran, were caught hiding in the back of a lorry in Ashford, Kent, yesterday and detained by police

'On a regular basis our police officers are taken away from protecting the public to mop up hoards of illegal migrants.' Mr Hurley revealed how Surrey Police have caught a total of 156 people piling out of lorries at Cobham services on the M25, including 20 in the most recent incident alone. In the town of Redhill, he said another 16 had 'gone on the run' in an industrial park.

'No one knows how many are missing,' he added. 'Given that this takes out virtually half of the 999 response capability of the county and ties up our nine prisoner vans for hours, along with dogs and the helicopter, to say nothing of the county's cells, this is now a threat to my residents.

'We can't respond to their needs or patrol adequately. What really concerns me though, is terrorism. It is clear that we are missing thousands of people.'

Paul Carter, leader of Kent council, said the 'massive logistical exercise' of supporting those under 18 who make it to the UK was putting an 'enormous strain' on children's social services.

He told the BBC councils have a duty to care for minors who arrive unaccompanied at Dover, adding that numbers have 'escalated dramatically in the last four to five weeks' and are 'rising day by day, week by week'.

How the Calais crisis is effecting the British side: Thousands of lorries still backed up for miles on M20 in Kent as part of Operation Stack bringing misery to residents, businesses and holidaymakers

Operation Stack will now continue indefinitely, bringing misery to residents, businesses and holidaymakers because of the chaos in Calais.

For 24 of the past 40 days, the coast bound side of the M20 has been closed, with drivers facing delays of up to 18 hours to try and enter the Tunnel.

Police have said that the current chaos is likely to continue into the weekend, providing no respite for residents or Kent businesses which are estimated to be losing £1.5million a day.

The tourism industry is paying a heavy price, too, with Leeds Castle, Dover Castle and Canterbury Cathedral all reporting a drastic drop in visitor numbers.

Police pass along the M20 where Lorries were backed up again today in the controversial Operation Stack, which may be moved to MoD land to unblock the Kent motorway

Kent Police said yesterday that Operation Stack is expected to last into the weekend.

Highways England rejected the idea of a temporary contraflow system yesterday over concerns about safety.

Freight operatives say that goods are having to be destroyed if migrants have been near them

But a spokesman said they would continue to 'urgently review' other options to ease the congestion.

Kent residents have suffered almost constantly for the last six weeks. This is an 'unprecedented' use of the tactic, according to the Freight Transport Association (FTA).

'It's been a huge inconvenience before' said the FTA's south east policy head Natalie Chapman.

'But the people of Kent and the haulage companies put up with it because it's just for a short time. This year has changed that though.'

Home Secretary Theresa May, who yesterday chaired a Cobra meeting about the crisis, said Operation Stack is being reviewed as it was causing 'real problems' for Kent residents.

She said: 'I know people living in Kent and British holiday makers and road hauliers are facing real issues. The meeting was focusing on making sure we are doing everything we can to reduce the disruption people are feeling.'

Meanwhile life saving drugs destined to help NHS patients in Britain are having to be destroyed over fears they could have been contaminated due to migrants in crisis-torn Calais to get to Britain, it has been claimed.

Pharmaceuticals and medical supplies produced on the continent bound for UK hospitals are being rejected by British suppliers if it is known that migrants have clambered over the cargo after getting into a truck.

It has already been revealed that tonnes of fruit and veg and other valuable goods have been wasted due to fears over contamination by migrants breaking into the back of trailers on roads leading to the Port of Calais and the Channel Tunnel.

But now the Freight Transport Association says it has been told by haulage firms that hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of drugs - including cancer treatments - are also being destroyed.

The FTA says if drugs and supplies bound for Britain's hospitals are in the same vehicle as even one migrant, they have to be written off for fear of contamination.

Deputy Chief Executive at the FTA, James Hookham said: 'Even very high security vehicles including drugs and medical supplies are being compromised.

'Any violation of any cargo renders the whole vehicle unusable and it will not be accepted, it is a tragic shame and not something you want to hear, but no one, and rightly so, will take the risk.

'The goods may look fine on the outside and the inner packaging, but who is going to make that call to say if they are safe once contaminated?'