The northern French port Calais has become a flash point for illegal immigrants trying to enter Britain.

With their route to England blocked, immigrants have set up makeshift camps along the roadsides in Calais.

Around 3,000 people, most from countries such as Sudan, Eritrea, Somalia and Syria, live on filthy wasteland.

Fleeing war, persecution and poverty, Calais is the end of a very long journey.

"There are many people here who have asked for asylum in this country and that country [and] got refused. They've been on the road for two, three, four, five years, and they've run out of possibilities," said Maya Konforti, with voluntary immigrant help group L'Auberge des Migrants.

As many see the U.K. as their last chance to find a better life, a chaotic, dangerous and sometimes even deadly game of cat and mouse between local police and immigrants plays out on the road leading to the port.

Immigrants scramble onto lorries that have slowed down on their approach to the port, while police do their best to stop them.

In reality, only a handful of people get through this way, but that doesn't deter others from trying.

One man from Eritrea told China Central Television's reporter about his perilous journey to Europe, which took him across Sudan and the Sahara then from Libya to Italy in a small and overcrowded boat.

He knows the next step is also dangerous but says it's worth the risk.

"Even coming before here, I decided to go in England. Always, I'm try[ing] to cross by truck to the ship or the train. I take the risk because maybe I'm successful, I'm enter[ing] Britain. [If I'm] not successful, I'm back, I try again. This [is] my life," he said.
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