Van driver killed by migrants' road block in Calais region

A van driver was killed in Calais this morning as a result of a migrant blockage on the A16.

The Polish-registered vehicle collided with one of three HGVs that had been stopped by tree trunks in the road at 3.45am this morning.

The van caught fire upon impact, killing the driver.

The incident occured between junctions 49 and 50 of the A16; around 15km from Calais.

Nine migrants of Eritrean origin are said to have been found in the back of one of the trucks and arrested at the scene.

A source told MT that trucks were held in the Port of Calais terminal as a result of the incident, and that migrants were trying to gain access to the stopped vehicles.

The RHA said its "worst fears had become a reality" after years of warning that migrant activity in Calais would lead to a driver fatality.

RHA chief executive Richard Burnett said: "The lives of innocent people, who want no more than to be able to go about their daily business in safety are being put at risk by those whose only aim in life is to reach the UK.

“The security forces currently in place just cannot cope. It’s not just Calais itself that needs 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.”

The FTA said the roads in the Calais region needed more effective policing.

The association's EU affairs manager Chris Yarsley said: “Major roads around Calais must be effectively policed to prevent migrants creating these dangerous road blocks. Authorities must do more to detain migrants and move them away from the area."