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Calais Migrant Crisis: Extra Police Guard Tunnel

French police have beefed up security at the Eurotunnel (Paris: FR0010533075 - news) to avoid migrants forcing their way onto railway platforms for another night.

An extra 120 riot police have been drafted into Calais to cope with the crisis, which has seen one Sudanese man die and 3,500 migrants storm the tunnel over the last two nights.

Until today, 60 French police covered the site along with 200 Eurotunnel security staff and police union official Gilles Debove said the increase would be a "burst of oxygen" for safeguarding the site.

Meanwhile Britain has pledged an extra £7m to improve security as David Cameron described the situation as "very concerning".

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Home Secretary Theresa May also pushed for a rapid installation of new fencing at Coquelles following a COBRA meeting on Wednesday.

She (Munich: SOQ.MU - news) added that a number of people have crossed the border in recent days while Labour MP Keith Vaz confirmed 148 people made it to the UK after Monday's incursion.

Some 20 migrants were found on one train alone, according to an official on the ground in Kent, he said.

Speaking at the Home Office, Mrs May said: "Crucially what we are looking at now is improving security at the railhead at Coquelles, so we can ensure people are not trying to come through the tunnel.

"That means some urgent work in government but also with Eurotunnel, and Eurotunnel has a role to play here in the measures they themselves put in place to protect their trains."

But Mr Vaz warned that "drastic action" was needed at the highest level to quell the crisis.

He said: "The Committee warned before the summer recess that the situation in Calais would descend into a summer crisis.

"David Cameron needs to meet Francois Hollande as soon as he returns. This can only be dealt with at the highest levels.

"The French police need to show zero tolerance and end the daily onslaught of thousands of people trying to board freight trains.

"The police and services in Kent will soon be overwhelmed unless drastic action is taken. The Committee will consider whether to conduct another report into this matter when it returns after the recess."

Britain and France have both put pressure on the Eurotunnel to address security issues but the Eurotunnel said it had become “a phenomenon which is beyond our means".

French interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve said: "Eurotunnel needs to also assume its responsibilities, notably regarding security."

The Eurotunnel defended itself saying it had invested more than 160 million euro (£113m) since the arrival of migrants in the area around Calais including expenditure on security features such as fences, cameras, infra-red detectors and personnel.

Eurotunnel spokesman John Keefe said: "We're just a small transport company operating in a little corner of Europe.

"The continuous pressure exerted every night is above and beyond that which a concessionaire can reasonably handle and requires a constructive and appropriate response from the governments."

Eurotunnel revealed that since the beginning of the year it has blocked 37,000 migrants trying to make their way to Britain, and that in the last month nine people have died trying to cross the Channel.

The crisis has caused travel chaos on both sides of the Channel, with motorists reporting long queues to get into the terminals.

Kent Police said Operation Stack - where freight traffic is parked on the M20 when cross-Channel crossings are disrupted - is expected to last into the weekend.

Lorry drivers caught up in the Calais delays will be allowed to drive for longer and rest for a shorter amount time, the Government has said.