THE RED Cross has released a report detailing the high number of children who are currently living in the Calais Jungle unaccompanied, a concern which has been echoed by an ex GP from Marlborough.

Dr Nick Maurice, 73, of London Road, visited the Calais Jungle for the second time in September to help the migrants who are living there, including an estimated 1,000 children who are unaccompanied.

Dr Maurice said: “It is estimated that somewhere between 800-1,000 children are currently living there on their own, it is shocking. A lot of them have family here in the UK but are still living there unaccompanied. The most worrying thing is that they are living there, possibly without their families, in terrible conditions. I heard that it is a possibility they will be demolishing the camp as early as next week as well. Only 80 children have been processed since the start of this year, it really isn’t enough, more needs to be done to solve this.

“It isn’t just the children as well, no one should have to live in those conditions no matter what age they are.”

In the report from the Red Cross, called No Place for Children, it states that of the estimated 1,000 unaccompanied children who are currently living in the Calais Jungle, 178 have been identified as having family ties to the UK, giving them the right to claim asylum in the country.

Although this may be the case, it takes 10-11 months on average to bring a child into the country under Dublin III, a European Union regulation which establishes the criteria for determining the state which is responsible for the protection of a migrant, due to problems with administration errors and short staff to facilitate transfers on the French side of the channel.

“This visit was very interesting, before when I visited in May it was pre-Brexit and people were very eager to come to England, but now there seems to be a change of opinion amongst groups of migrants in the camp who no longer see the country as being as welcoming. A lot of them now are looking to move to places in France. If history repeats itself then it is possible the migrants will set up camp near the north of France, if the camp is demolished, and that is no solution,” added Dr Maurice.

Whilst children as young as eight or nine are living in the jungle, depending on charities for food, water, sanitation and education, the threat of eviction is currently looming over the heads of the 9,000 strong group of migrants living there.

Alex Fraser, director of refugee support at the British Red Cross, said: “Right now, the system for transferring children who have a right to be in the UK had numerous problems. Children, who could be building their lives in safety with their only surviving relatives, are instead being left to fend for themselves in conditions unimaginable to most adults.

“With the forthcoming evictions in Calais reportedly planned by the French Government, these bureaucratic problems are now more pressing than ever. We need urgent action from both the UK and French Governments. Children with a legal right to be here should be on the Eurostar across the channel, not being dispersed somewhere else in France, with no idea when they can join their family.”

At a meeting between the new Home Secretary for the UK, Amber Rudd, and her French counterpart Bernard Cazeneuve, Mrs Rudd stated that she wanted to process for children to be housed from the jungle to be speeded up as quickly as possible.

“We welcome recent commitments from Home Office officials to work with their French counterparts to improve the system, and to increase the scale and speed of transfers of unaccompanied children. But more can and must be done, on both sides of the channel, to ensure children do not spend another cold winter living in uncertainty – unsafe, afraid and alone,” added Mr Fraser.

“We share the same goal as the UK government and other agencies working in Calais: that is for unaccompanied children eligible to transfer here from France to do so as quickly and safely as possible.”