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| French authorities have criticised David Cameron's efforts in tackling the Calais migrant crisis |
CALAIS officials have threatened to open the borders and "let the migrants through" as the refugee crisis reached boiling point.
Britain was accused of being deliberatly "provocative" towards the French, who mocked Prime Minister David Cameron's efforts to keep migrants from reaching the UK.
Refugees in Calais also sneered at proposed increased security measures, with one declaring: "Let them build fences 1,000 ft high, let them bring over 1,000 dogs, we'll still come. There will always be another way in."
Friday night saw a raft of further efforts to breach security at the Eurotunnel. There have been more than 4,000 attempts since the start of the week with at least 150 migrants reaching Britain.
As tempers rose, the French yesterday accused the British of 'outrageous provocation' - and threatened to end all security and passport checks in the port.
Responding to suggestions that British troops should be deployed, Emmanuel Agius, the deputy mayor of Calais, said: "If it continues like that, with such outrageous provocation, I believe that at a given moment, we ourselves are going to be provocative, and we will say 'let the migrants through', and Mr Cameron will have to deal with it.
"They will be on his territory, in the port of Dover. He poses as the savior of the situation, on a subject he is greatly mistaken about, just as he is mistaken about the men and women of Calais."
The camp where 3,000 migrants are living has sprung up underneath a motorway flyover in the French port town.
Piles of rotting food, discarded drinks cans and bin bags full of rubbish lie discarded between tents and makeshift shelters housing as many as 11 people each.
If it continues like that, with such outrageous provocation, I believe that at a given moment, we ourselves are going to be provocative, and we will say 'let the migrants through
Dr Jean Francois Patry, of Medecins du monde, and a small team of medics provide clinics at the camp between 10am and 5pm Monday to Friday.
He said: "It's a desperate situation really because the more people who come here the more overcrowded it becomes and of course the dirtier it becomes.
"Conditions here are awful, there are piles of litter festering on the roads with people living just feet away.
"Over the last three weeks we have seen a significant rise in scabies and fleas because of such unsanitary conditions and it's only going to get worse.
Since the start of the year, the migrant camp has grown from a small collection of tents to a fully functioning town with shops selling food, sanitary supplies and water to a church, mosque and even a school.
Afghan Shirgul Ahmadza, 25, has been living in the camp for the last 22 days but dreams of making it to the UK to live for a second time.
He entered the country illegally on the back of a lorry in 2007 as a 17-year-old and lived for four years, working as a builder in Bristol, Birmingham and Derby before being deported in 2011.
However he is so determined to return that he has travelled several thousand miles from Afghanistan through Iran, Turkey, Bulgaria, Serbia, Italy and finally to France.
He said: "There is nothing here for me in Calais, look at how we live, and in Afghanistan my town has been taken over by the Taliban, it isn't safe.
"I have been travelling for more than a year and a half and my goal is to reach Britain.
"It's a country that I know well because I was there between 2007 and 2011 when I got deported.
"The people are friendly and I can get work there, I'm a good builder and want to work on construction sites again like I did before."
As night fell last night, a procession of about 100 migrants lined the road leading to the Channel tunnel.
They are becoming increasingly desperate to reach Britain before more fencing and tighter security is installed along the rail tracks.
The migrants shrugged off David Cameron's warnings of extra security yesterday.
Afghan Ahmadi Mahmoodjan said: "It doesn't put me off at all, I've tried many times to reach England and will continue to do so until I'm there.
"Let them build fences 1000 ft high, let them being over 1000 dogs, we'll still come.
"There will always be another way in.
Debora Tadem, 27, whose family paid for her to be trafficked into Europe from Eritrea, crossed the Sahara into Libya.
She said she was determined to reach the UK, saying: "England offers the fish, we will take the fish."
Last night, a UKIP MEP told how he had travelled to Calais himself, and declared security around the Eurotunnel Terminal "a joke" after scaling a 10-feet fence intended to stop migrants.
Mike Hookem, Ukip's defence spokesman and MEP for Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire, also uncovered five gaping breaches which had remained unfixed for two days.
"We spotted at least five major security breaches and we saw migrants pouring through. Some were carrying wire cutters," he said.
"And it's not just holes. I'm 61 and I climbed over the fence. At 61 years of age, I could have been through that tunnel. These lads are in their early twenties, they're a lot fitter than me. That fence is not going to stop them.
"They are determined to get across, no matter what it takes.
"One of them boasted: Calais belongs to us. They will not be stopped."
Meanwhile, Interim Labour Leader Harriet Harman accused Mr Cameron of mishandling the situation.
In a letter she said: "Over the last few days, your approach has been devoid of any serious solution to the crisis. You have failed to initiate any diplomatic pressure on the French Government to assess asylum claims and make sure proper immigration procedures are followed."
Calling for compensation to be paid to Britons affected by the chaos at Calais she told Mr Cameron: " Your discussions with the French Government should include a request for compensation backed up by any diplomatic pressure that may become necessary. Compensation should cover all losses."
Her letter came as the Home Office announced it is looking at ways of withdrawing benefits from thousands of failed asylum seekers "to send out a very clear message . . . that Britain is not a soft touch on asylum".
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