Calais migrant crisis: 24 photos which illustrate the true extent of the problems

While the political debate rolls on, the human cost increases and desperate attempts to enter Britain continue

French gendarmes try to stop migrants on the Eurotunnel site in Coquelles near Calais (Getty Images)

Calais is in chaos as both British and French authorities struggle to cope with growing numbers of migrants and refugees desperate to enter the UK.

Many are fleeing conflict, persecution and famine and are often at the mercy of human traffickers.

The UNHCR has reported that 137,000 people crossed the Mediterranean between January and June 2015 and 1,867 died making the journey - more than triple the amount of the previous year.

French gendarmes try to separate migrants on the Eurotunnel site near the boarding docks in Coquelles

Migrants escape from the French Police as they try to catch a train to reach England (EPA)

French gendarmes attempt to block a migrant after he entered the Eurotunnel site in Coquelles near Calais (Getty)

A man runs away from Gendarmerie near the Eurotunnel terminal in Coquelles (Getty)

Refugees erect make-shift homes at Calais (Velar Grant/REX)

A driver climbs on his truck as he waits to cross the English channel, in Calais

Migrants step over the fence as they try to catch a train to reach England, in Calais

Migrants warm themselves with a fire as they attempt to access the Channel Tunnel, in Calais

Graffiti reads 'France is dog life- England is good life' (Velar Grant/REX)

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 around the northern French port of Calais

A migrant is removed from the trailer of a truck he climbed into during an attempt to make a clandestine crossing to England (Reuters)

Two migrants cling to the roof of a freight truck as it leaves the Eurotunnel terminal in Folkestone (Getty)

French gendarmes block migrants along a road to prevent them access to train tracks which lead to the Channel Tunnel in Frethun, near Calais

A policeman faces migrants trying to reach the Channel Tunnel operated by Eurotunnel in Coquelles near Calais (Image: Getty)

A policeman tries to stop migrants on the Eurotunnel site 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 migrant jumps after climbing a security fence of a Eurotunnel terminal in Coquelles near Calais (Getty)

Migrants help a man squeeze through a gap in a fence near the Eurotunnel terminal in Coquelles in Calais (Getty)

Policemen try to prevent migrants from reaching the Channel Tunnel operated by Eurotunnel in Coquelles near Calais

Leigh Daynes, executive director of Doctors of the World UK (Médecins du Monde), told The Independent that people are living in "horrendous conditions" leading to "all sorts of terrible health problems."

Mr Daynes claims the charity is "treating a growing number of people who have been injured, many of them seriously, after falling from trucks". Others have died inside the Eurotunnel as they attempt to cling to trains bound for England.

The issue has become deeply political and divisive on both sides of the Channel.

Speaking yesterday, David Cameron described migrants as a "swarm". He was criticised by human rights groups for "dehumanising language".

Home Secretary Theresa May has said Britain will spend an extra £7 million to increase security at the Channel Tunnel in a bid to stop migrants from entering.