Van driver killed in crash after Calais refugees build road block

Nine Eritrean refugees arrested amid mounting concern not enough is being done in response to growing number returning to Calais in bid to reach the UK by any means they can

Death of lorry driver comes amid concerns over growing number of refugees returning to Calais (Sue Clayton)

A van driver has been killed in Calais after refugees, and possible people smugglers, caused a pile-up by blocking the road with tree trunks in a bid to mount lorries heading for the UK, French authorities have said.

The vehicle, registered in Poland, crashed into other lorries on the A16 early on Tuesday morning and burst into flames, killing the man inside.

Nine Eritrean refugees were found stowed in one of the lorries and were arrested, according to the Prefecture du Pas-de-Calais.

British hauliers have previously warned of the dangers near the Calais port for UK-bound lorry drivers, as crude road blocks have been a long-time tactic for those desperate to stow away on board vehicles bound for the UK.

It comes amid growing concern among charities and volunteers working in the Calais that action isn't being taken to a abate the refugee situation in the region, which has seen a return of refugees to the area in recent months, less than a year after its Jungle camp was dismantled and residents relocated. Hundreds of refugees, including many children, are believed to be sleeping in the undergrowth of forests after being chased out of the town by police.

The Independent reported earlier this year that a rise in refugees returning to Calais and Dunkirk in a bid to reach the UK is generating a new “consumer base” for smugglers and people traffickers who target lorries passing through the port. Charities warned that the closure of legal routes to Britain and an absence of child safeguarding services in the region have provided smuggling networks with a “terrifying new market” that involves coercing children into taking illegal routes involving large debts or exploitation.

In response to the incident, the Road Haulage Association (RHA), an organisation that campaigns for the road haulage industry, said French authorities must take urgent action. RHA chief executive Richard Burnett said: “Our worst fears have become a reality. We have been predicting this for two years. The security forces currently in place just cannot cope. It’s not just Calais itself that need protecting; it’s the approach roads too.

“President Macron must get a grip of this situation and we urge him to deploy the French military to provide safe passage for the thousands of UK-bound hauliers that use this route every day.”