DESPERATE drivers saw 350 migrants pulled from their lorries in just FOUR HOURS in Calais yesterday as armed refugees continued their relentless bid to reach Britain.
Crowds of young men were filmed using crowbars to break into lorries queuing to get into the Channel port.
The figures show migrants were stowing away in cars and trucks at a rate of 90 an hour.
But the true figure will be considerably higher, as many made it through borders and as far as Bedfordshire before being caught. It has raised fears many more could be on our shores without police knowledge.
Ten migrants were found in the back of a lorry parked in Folkstone, Kent, at about 4.30pm yesterday.
They were sent to Dover Immigration Centre where they are now under their care.
Seven suspected illegal immigrants were arrested at Toddington Services on the M1 in Bedfordshire. One told reporters he had come from Sudan wanting to go to a British university.
With nearly 400 more migrants reaching Calais every week to add to the 4,000 already camping out and waiting for the chance to slip into Britain, truckers leaders called on the French authorities to do more to protect their members.
The crisis started escalating on Tuesday when a strike by French ferry workers facing the sack shut Calais down and migrants flocked to the stationary lorries stuck in traffic jams.
Cross-Channel services were returning to normal yesterday but David Cameron described the scenes as “totally unacceptable”.
He said it was important to work with France to tackle the problem and warned against “either side trying to point the finger of blame.”
But the Freight Transport Association (FTA) said France must do more to tame the “perfect storm”.
Its head of Policy for the South East, Natalie Chapman, said: “The closure of the port, coupled with delays on the Eurotunnel and the ongoing problem with migrants has created a perfect storm.
“Lorry drivers and members of the public are sitting ducks and we are concerned for their safety and welfare.
“The French authorities need to do more. They are allowing the migrants to swarm around vehicles waiting at the port - it must be terrifying for families with young children.
“The strike has caused traffic chaos on this side of the water too.”
She added: “For those waiting in Calais it’s like a warzone.”
Tensions continued to flare yesterday, with two truckers clashing with migrants after one tried to break into a stationary lorry.
One migrant was seen to climb on to a lorry’s roof, while two others managed to break into the back of a slow-moving HGV with the help of a third migrant.
Another migrant declared: “I need a better life in England and I will do whatever it takes.”
The FTA’s International Affairs Manager, Donald Armour, said it was worried about the safety of truck drivers who face heavy fines if they are caught with migrants on board.
He said: “We don’t believe that truck drivers should be made to act as unpaid immigrations officers.”
The UKIP MEP for Wales Nathan Gill, whose Eurostar train was forced to return to Brussels on Tuesday afternoon, said: “These are economic migrants. They have travelled across Europe to get to Calais.
“It is the duty of the French Government and police to deal with this. But the only French police you see are directing traffic. They ignore the migrants walking up and down the road and just let them keep on trying to get through.
“The time has come for them to deal with this once and for all.
‘They could deal with it tomorrow but there’s no political will. They are turning a blind eye.”
UKIP leader Nigel Farage said: “As a regular traveller by car through Calais, I’ve seen first hand a marked deterioration in the situation around the port.
“This will only get worse as huge numbers of people continue to cross the Mediterranean to Europe in response to a clear EU message that nobody will be sent back.”
Mr Farage added: “The UK has become the number one destination of choice due to the size of our employment black market and the failure to deport 75 per cent of caught illegal immigrants.
“David Cameron’s words today will not deter a single illegal immigrant from trying to break in to a car or a lorry.”
Among the migrants desperate to get to Britain was Yazan, a 20-year-old Syrian. He said: “My future would be better if I get to England.
“I need to get to England. I came here via Turkey and Greece and now I’m living in the jungle in Calais. The situation here is very bad.
“But life in Syria was worse. Our homes were destroyed and our government used chemical weapons against us. I need a better life in England and I will do whatever it takes.”
France sent more riot police to Calais yesterday and Mr Cameron said Britain may send more border force officers and sniffer dogs.
A French police source said: “There are still huge tailbacks, and extra CRS police have arrived to deal with the problem.”
Immigration minister James Brokenshire said Home Secretary Theresa May was yesterday assured by her French counterpart that the authorities there “would do the job” in Calais.
Polish trucker Martin Szczygielski, 33, said the migrant situation had reached crisis point, and lorry drivers faced daily threats of intimidation and fines.
He said: “My friend had four immigrants in his truck and the police gave him a £2,000 fine, but it was not his fault because he checked the trailer. It’s very hard and dangerous to earn a living here.”
But Mrs May yesterday hinted that she may change the law regarding punishing truckers caught with migrants in their vehicles.
She told MPs: “We will be looking in the immigration bill that will be forthcoming later this year, we will be looking at the issues of responsibilities on other parties, hauliers and others, in relation to this issue, to make sure that our border is as secure as possible.”
Meanwhile volunteers from Calais’ l’Auberge des Migrants say up to 50 new migrants are arriving every day at the camp, dubbed the Jungle II, and there are not enough tents, blankets or food.
Numbers are being swollen by the thousands of migrants crossing the Mediterranean from Libya to Italy.