Refugees hoping to travel to the UK are living in ‘secret’ camps in Calais months after the Jungle was destroyed
REFUGEES hoping to travel to the UK have returned to live in "secret" camps in Calais.
Just weeks after the demolition of the Calais Jungle, there are at least six informal settlements in parts of the Nord-pas-de-Calais region with numbers steadily rising.
Scores of refugees were taken to reception centres (CAOs) across France two months ago when the site was destroyed.
Some are now beginning to make the journey back to the north of France, .
Many of them are children who had their claims for asylum rejected by the Home Office and have decided to make their own way to the UK after experiencing poor living conditions in the French centres.
One of the so-called "secret" camps is located on the edge of a small French village called Norrent-Fontes which is about 30km from the port of Calais.
Though it has existed since 2008, the number of people at the camp has been rapidly growing in the last few weeks and it is believed that around 130 people are currently living there.
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Sue Clayton, a refugee advocate and professor at Goldsmiths University, discovered a hidden camp earlier this month.
She described the conditions as "dire" and said those living there are afraid to accept aid as they are worried it will draw attention to themselves.
Professor Clayton added how the camp is located two kilometres from a lay-by on the highway which leads to Calais.
This is often a last stop for lorry drivers before they cross the channel, making it a "trafficker's paradise".
The Nord-Pas-de-Calais prefecture rejected reports that there are six informal settlements in the region and denied there had been an increase in refugee numbers.