Calais MP warns 'nothing can stop' migrants trying to cross the Channel

Some 14,000 migrants are now thought to have arrived in the UK via the route this year, after around another 160 were brought into the marina at the Port of Dover on Wednesday. The Home Office has yet to update the official figures.

But Pierre-Henri Dumont, who represents Calais in the French National Assembly, warned that 'nothing can stop' migrants coming.

'The fact is, we've got 300 to 400 kilometres of shore to monitor every day and every night and it's quite impossible to have police officers every 100 metres because of the length of the shore,' he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

Mr Dumont added that while the main reason for the current increase in Channel crossings is the warmer weather, there are 'numerous causes' to address about why they are made in the first place.

'That's the key point – the causes we need to address are numerous,' he added.

Mr Dumont cited migrants being more likely to speak English as one of the reasons, and said it is easier for them to find work in the UK despite their illegal status.

He added: 'We have more and more patrols. The money that was promised to be given by the UK Government to France is set to maintain this number of patrols that we already doubled a few weeks ago.'

France has insisted it was 'deploying considerable and constantly increasing resources to prevent crossings' and had prevented half of those attempted this year, stopping more than 10,000 migrants getting across.