Work on Calais wall to start this month, Britain says

09/07/2016 5:55

LONDON (Reuters) - Work on building a wall in the northern French port of Calais to try to stop refugees and migrants from jumping aboard trucks bound for Britain will begin this month, according to British officials.

Immigration minister, Robert Goodwill, told lawmakers that security was being stepped up in Calais, home to the "Jungle" camp where thousands of migrants fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East and Africa hope to cross the English Channel to Britain.

"The security we're putting in in the ports is being stepped up with equipment," Goodwill said on Tuesday, referring to a 17 million pounds ($22.75 million) package of security measures agreed by Britain and France in March this year.

"We are going to start building this big new wall as part of the 17 million package that we are doing with the French ... We've done the fence and now we're doing the wall."

The wall, which is expected to be four meters (13 ft)high and be built along both sides of a 1-km (0.6 mile) stretch of the Rocade port approach road, should be completed by the end of this year.

($1 = 0.7472 pounds)

(Reporting by Elizabeth Piper Editing by Jeremy Gaunt)

09/07/2016 5:55