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Calais crisis intensifies - in pictures

Migrants face riot police, tear gas and speeding trains in the mission to reach Britain

Megan Townsend
Thursday 30 July 2015 15:02 BST
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French gendarmes try to separate migrants on the Eurotunnel site near the boarding docks in Coquelles near Calais
French gendarmes try to separate migrants on the Eurotunnel site near the boarding docks in Coquelles near Calais

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Newly released images from Calais display an increasingly desperate situation as migrants risk their lives to gain access to the United Kingdom.

As well as a daily effort to access the channel tunnel by climbing over barbed wire fences, taking on riot police armed with tear gas and 90mph trains; we can also see the squalid living conditions the estimated 3,500 migrants in the area are enduring.

Below images portray the daily struggles of migrants, including a look into camps and desperate clasheswith law enforcement.

Policemen try to prevent migrants from reaching the Channel Tunnel operated by Eurotunnel in Coquelles near Calais
Policemen try to prevent migrants from reaching the Channel Tunnel operated by Eurotunnel in Coquelles near Calais
Migrants who managed to pass the police block on the Eurotunnel site climb over a fence to make their way towards the boarding docks in Coquelles near Calais
Migrants who managed to pass the police block on the Eurotunnel site climb over a fence to make their way towards the boarding docks in Coquelles near Calais
Migrants are seen near a Channel Tunnel train in Coquelles near Calais
Migrants are seen near a Channel Tunnel train in Coquelles near Calais
A migrant climbs a security fence of a Eurotunnel terminal in Coquelles near Calais
A migrant climbs a security fence of a Eurotunnel terminal in Coquelles near Calais
A policeman tries to stop migrants on the Eurotunnel site in Coquelles near Calais
A policeman tries to stop migrants on the Eurotunnel site in Coquelles near Calais
A policeman faces migrants trying to reach the Channel Tunnel operated by Eurotunnel in Coquelles near Calais (Image: Getty)
A policeman faces migrants trying to reach the Channel Tunnel operated by Eurotunnel in Coquelles near Calais (Image: Getty)
A migrant climbs a security fence of a Eurotunnel terminal in Coquelles near Calais
A migrant climbs a security fence of a Eurotunnel terminal in Coquelles near Calais
French gendarmes block migrants along a road to prevent them access to train tracks which lead to the Channel Tunnel in Frethun, near Calais
French gendarmes block migrants along a road to prevent them access to train tracks which lead to the Channel Tunnel in Frethun, near Calais
Migrants step over the fence as they try to catch a train to reach England, in Calais
Migrants step over the fence as they try to catch a train to reach England, in Calais
An Afghan flag flies above makeshift shelters at a site dubbed the "new jungle", where migrants trying to cross the Channel to reach Britain have camped out around the northern French port of Calais
An Afghan flag flies above makeshift shelters at a site dubbed the "new jungle", where migrants trying to cross the Channel to reach Britain have camped out around the northern French port of Calais
Migrants build a makeshift shelter
Migrants build a makeshift shelter
Migrants build a makeshift shelter around the northern French port of Calais
Migrants build a makeshift shelter around the northern French port of Calais
Migrants walk in a makeshift camp in Calais (Image: AP)
Migrants walk in a makeshift camp in Calais (Image: AP)
A driver climbs on his truck as he waits to cross the English channel, in Calais
A driver climbs on his truck as he waits to cross the English channel, in Calais
Migrants walk along the roadside while a French policeman secures the area as lorries queue in Calais
Migrants walk along the roadside while a French policeman secures the area as lorries queue in Calais
French gendarmes try to stop migrants on the Eurotunnel site in Coquelles near Calais
French gendarmes try to stop migrants on the Eurotunnel site in Coquelles near Calais (Getty Images)
French gendarmes try to stop migrants on the Eurotunnel site in Coquelles near Calais
French gendarmes try to stop migrants on the Eurotunnel site in Coquelles near Calais
Migrants trying to reach the Channel Tunnel run past policemen in Coquelles near Calaisa
Migrants trying to reach the Channel Tunnel run past policemen in Coquelles near Calaisa
A migrant climbs a security fence of a Eurotunnel terminal in Coquelles near Calais
A migrant climbs a security fence of a Eurotunnel terminal in Coquelles near Calais (PHILIPPE HUGUEN | AFP | Getty Images)
Migrants warm themselves with a fire as they attempt to access the Channel Tunnel, in Calais
Migrants warm themselves with a fire as they attempt to access the Channel Tunnel, in Calais

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