AN ESCALATION in violent evictions of refugee camps in Calais are driving record numbers of perilous channel crossings, campaigners have warned. 

The numbers of boat crossings have surged during the pandemic with more than 3,100 refugees arriving to England from France so far this year.

This is compared with an estimated 1,800 in 2019. 

Aid workers in northern France claim this is being fuelled by increasing numbers of evictions from make-shift camps.

Earlier this month police carried out one of the biggest operations since the “jungle” camp was dismantled in 2016, with the removal of 519 people. 

Care4Calais founder Clare Moseley said this week that police often use violent tactics during these evictions, including the use of tear gas. 

She said: “This policy is cruel and it is counterproductive. It succeeds only in increasing the numbers of people desperate enough to make a dangerous attempt to cross the Channel.”

The campaigner believes the recent operations are a response to Home Secretary Priti Patel’s promise in April to clamp down on boat crossings. 

“Priti Patel and the French authorities are only adding to the chaos in the Channel, they have no strategy to protect vulnerable refugees and get control of our borders long term,” Ms Moseley added. 

It’s believed that there are over 1,000 refugees living in car parks, woods and fields in northern France in terrible conditions. 

Since the “jungle” camp was closed, refugees face constant evictions by police who often confiscate and destroy their tents, blankets and belongings. 

However Calais MP Pierre-Henri Dumont disagreed that there was a link between the crossings and evictions, saying that it was fuelled by “the British law and way of life.”