A hundred migrants are still reaching the UK every week despite the closure of the Calais ‘Jungle’ camp, it has been claimed.
Charity L’Auberge des Migrants said a similar number was arriving each week in Dunkirk and Calais, sparking fears of a new crisis in the region.
Around 10,000 migrants used to live at the Jungle until the squalid camp was pulled down by French officials in 2016 to ‘solve the problems’.
The port city camp was popular with migrants who hoped to try to stowaway on trucks in the hope they would reach Britain.
A French charity claims 100 migrants a week are arriving in the UK from Calais despite the closure of the ‘Jungle’ camp. Pictured are police inspecting a lorry, with thousands of migrants found stowed away on vehicles in recent months
The Jungle, pictured in August 2016, once held around 10,000 migrants but was cleared last yearto ‘restore order’ to the area and stop Channel crossings
French officials said the destruction of the camp would restore order and end Channel crossing attempts, but several charities have disputed this, although some claim the number trying to cross each week is closer to 50.
In August this year, it was revealed that migrants had made 30,000 attempts to reach Britain from Calais despite costly security measures.
A spokesman for L’Auberge des Migrants told The Times: ‘It is because a handful get lucky and reach Britain that the others remain hopeful of doing so.
‘The day the Channel is completely blocked, it is likely that there will not be any more migrants in Calais.’
The camp, pictured in March 2017, was completely cleared but Calais police say the number of attempts to board UK-bound vehicles and ships is still going up
Calais Police has confirmed the number of attempts to board vehicles at the port has increased, with around 1,600 stowaways found in August, more than double since May.
Smuggling gangs are still believed to be operating in the area, charging as much as £2,700 (3,000 euros) per person.
The Road Haulage Association told the Times it wanted French authorities to bring in the military to protect vehicles from being boarded, claiming the security at the port is ‘not enough’.
A spokesman said: ‘We advise our members not to stop within 150 miles of Calais. We have had reports of migrants standing on motorway bridges lobbing bricks so that when vehicles stop they can try and get aboard.
The Jungle, pictured earlier this month, is now nearly unrecognisable from before
According to the paper, there are around 700 migrants homeless in Calais at the current time and another 400 in Dunkirk.
Migrants are also trying to get to the UK via other ports around Europe, including Bilbao in Spain, with some arriving in Britain via smaller boats.
But Eurotunnel says ‘tougher security’ has prevented migrants from boarding UK-bound trains and ‘disrupting services’.
Since the Jungle was shut down, there has been a dramatic decrease in the amount of violent crime in the area as a number of migrants have applied for asylum in France or dispersed into other parts of the EU.
MailOnline has contacted the Home Office for comment.