British Truckers Face Migrant 'Nightmare'

Frustrated truckers have described an increasingly chaotic situation at Calais, saying they feel vulnerable as migrants, some reportedly armed with knives, try to board their lorries.

Both at the French port and in Dover, drivers have said they feel threatened by growing numbers of migrants and often feel left alone by police.

One driver told Sky News of how he discovered a man in his trailer.

The migrant hid in one of the boxes loaded onto the lorry, which had travelled from Calais and stopped at a service station on the M20 near Dover.

"This is the petrol station, my working time was finished," the lorry driver told Sky News' Alex Rossi in Dover, saying he heard banging from inside and "I called the police".

At Calais, truckers have been fending off attempts by desperate migrants to jump onboard.

"It's a nightmare," Pete Alexander, one of hundreds of drivers stuck outside the French port disrupted by strike action, said.

Hundreds of migrants have tried to take advantage of a strike by ferry workers by targeting UK-bound lorries stuck at the entrances to the port and the Eurotunnel.

Mr Alexander said several migrants broke the padlock to his trailer earlier on Wednesday in an attempt to get on board.

"They snapped it off in two seconds," the driver from Rotherham told Sky News.

"They climbed in the back but there was nowhere to hide so they got back off again."

"It's just frustrating, everybody's frustrated, we're just stood here."

Mr Alexander said he believed authorities were not giving drivers enough support.

"I've been coming out here for 20 years, I've never known it this bad," he said.

"You can't go anywhere near Calais, you daren't.

"With these immigrants now, they've got knives and they're not afraid to use them.

"You can't get out of the lorry, you can't say, 'Out' to them."

That sentiment was echoed by haulier Chris Cary, who got stuck in the chaos on Tuesday.

He described the situation as "the worst I've ever seen".

Migrants "were trying your doors to get in the cab, trying to sneak under the axles on the trailers, trying to cut the locks and seals on the back of the trailers, even trying to climb on the roof of the trailers," he said.

About 3,000 migrants are estimated to be living rough around Calais, waiting for a chance to cross the Channel.

"I want to go to the UK because life here in France is very bad," said Saleh, a 23-year-old Ethiopian who arrived at Calais two months ago.

Even though he has no friends or family awaiting in Britain, he said the situation in his home country is so desperate he is determined to make a better life for himself in Europe.

So far, French police have found him each time he has tried to stow away aboard a truck, but he says he will not give up.

"It's very difficult, but I keep trying," he said.

Prime Minister David Cameron has described the situation as "totally unacceptable" .

Security has been stepped up on both sides of the Channel, with extra French police being deployed at Calais and additional screenings and checks put in place on arrivals at Dover, officials said.