Calais crisis: Inside the migrant camp where hundreds hope for a better life in the UK

Video: Ahmadi Mahmood Jan says he has lost 13kg since his time in the Calais camp

(Rob Stothard | Getty Images)

With David Cameron calling migrants in Calais "a swarm" and various national publications calling for the army to secure the British borders, it is often forgotten that those trying to reach the United Kingdom are individuals fleeing wars and extreme poverty in the search of a better life; they cling to hope.

The situation in Calais has come to a head once more with the biggest security breach at Eurotunnel to date when 3,000 migrants stormed the terminal earlier this week. The Government has now boosted the numbers of dogs operating in Calais and other ports. Euortunnel has said that numbers have swelled to around 5,000 people from about 600 in Calais and that the migrants are better organised, mounting nightly attempts in large groups.

Many of the migrants live in a makeshift camp known as the "jungle", making trips to the Eurotunnel perimeter at night time.

This video puts some faces and stories to those Mr Cameron describes as a "swarm."

Ahmadi Mahmood Jan shows reporters round his basic tent and explains that he has tried four times to get on to a train or a lorry in recent weeks.

Mahamed Ali, 26, a former secondary school teacher, fled the war in Darfur, Sudan, in hopes of a better life: now, he struggles to feed himself.

Raihan Jan, 24, a clerk from eastern Afghanistan, says that 'There is nobody to help us so we must help each other."