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Almost 20,000 have already made it by sea to mainland Europe in the first 67 days of 2017, it emerged yesterday.

The crisis is set to intensify as the weather in the Mediterranean improves.

The French have closed six motorway service stations on the approaches to Calais to prevent them being used by migrants trying to sneak aboard UK-bound lorries.

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But their action may have come too late, truckers leaders warned last night.

The French authorities need to take action before the situation gets any worse

James Hookham - Freight Transport Association

James Hookham, deputy chief executive of the Freight Transport Association, said: Our members have reported signs that migrants are returning to Calais and French motorway operator Sanefs move to close truck parking areas at services near the port due to problems confirms this.

The French authorities need to take action before the situation gets any worse.

We dont want to see a return to last summers chaos when drivers suffered threats and intimidation at unprecedented levels.

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EPA

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Moroccan Police look at immigrants trying to jump the six-meter-high fence in Ceuta, Spanish enclave on the north of Africa, 09 December 2016.

The looming crisis was laid bare in figures released by the International Organisation for Migration which revealed that 19,567 migrants and refugees entered Europe by sea this year, up to March 8, a rate of almost 300 a day.

Tory MP David Davies said: The European nations are aiding and abetting this chaotic exodus by sending out rescue boats to pick up thousands of migrants trying to enter the Continent illegally from North Africa.

They should be taking them straight back to ports and safe refugee camps so they are not incentivised to risk their lives trying.

I hope this worrying development doesnt herald the return to the chaotic events of last year.

The unprecedented move to close the service stations is the first indicator that a new wave of migration is expected after the demolition of the notorious Jungle camp last year.

Operator Sanef has closed four of the six rest areas which have become a magnet for trafficking gangs.

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One, at St-Hilaire-Cotte on the A26, roughly 30 miles from Calais, is a well-known trafficking hotspot.

It is a short walk from a muddy migrant camp in woods close to the village of Norrent-Fontes where a Daily Express reporting team was attacked last year.

Others out of action are at Grande-Synthe, close to an official migrant camp on the outskirts of Dunkirk, Steenvoorde on the A25, La Grande Bucaille and Nortkerque on the A26 and Berck on the A16, around 55 miles south of Calais.

For the past two summers British drivers have faced a wave of violence and intimidation on the approach to the Calais ferry terminal, with migrants using burning blockades in an effort to slow down vehicles returning to the UK so they can break in.

Road Haulage Association chief executive Richard Burnett said: We always advise our international drivers not to stop within 100 miles of Calais unless they absolutely have to.

"To even consider yet another summer of misery is quite simply out of the question.

If Sanef remains resolute not to reopen the rest areas we will be demanding more security is deployed on the approach roads and that includes the French military.

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Migrants try to reach a rescue craft from their overcrowded raft, as lifeguards from the Spanish NGO Proactiva Open Arms rescue all 112 on aboard

French officials estimate migrants are returning to the northern coast at a rate of 100 a week. There are now thought to be at least six secret refugee camps in the Nord-Pas-deCalais region.

Home Office figures revealed by the Daily Express after a freedom of information request showed 24,800 attempts to enter the UK illegally were stopped at the British border on the Continent during the first six months of last year.

In 2015 the number reached a record 84,088.

Charlie Elphicke, Tory MP for Dover, said: We must be vigilant and take action now before any new Jungle camp forms at Calais.

We cant risk another summer of chaos, thats why we need to act before the first tent is pitched.

The Home Office said: We work closely with the French authorities on the security of the UK-France border but the operation of the French motorway network is a matter for them.

Continued here:
New migrant crisis on the way: Fears sparked of 'summer of chaos' at British border - Express.co.uk