'Four times more asylum seekers waiting to cross Channel than last winter'

UP TO 3,500 migrants are waiting to cross the Channel in small boats, the Daily Express can reveal.

- Michael Knowles

And aid charities in northern France say there are four times as many asylum seekers living in makeshift camps near Calais and Dunkirk compared with last year.

That number is expected to increase as the freezing weather prevents migrants from crossing the Channel.

Care4Calais, a refugee humanitarian charity aid to providing thousands of migrants living in poor conditions in northern France, told donors: "Temperatures are about to plummet. As the bad weather stops people moving on from Calais, the number of refugees in the region is rising steadily.

"Right now there are around 3,500 cold and wet refugees in Calais and Dunkirk facing the winter without proper clothing or shelter. That's four times as many as last winter."

The UK used a Europe-wide summit on smuggling yesterday to warn that gangs operating in northern France were becoming "increasingly violent".