Nearly 100 people try to climb the fence

Driver Alan Brooks encountered problems trying to drive his freight train back to Kent.

At the depot on the French side a night-vision camera immediately picks out large groups of people waiting at the fence.

Some are already climbing it, and the drivers say this is what happens every night.

Everyone here knows the drill. The asylum seekers wait for a freight train heading north to Kent.

Mass storm

They come down to the fence even though the guards are just feet away. Often they are testing the best place to make the break.

French police and guards line up as if to prevent a pitch invasion.

At the first signs the train is pulling away, there is a mass attempt to rush the wagons.

As Mr Brooks' train edges forward nearly 100 people trying to scale the fence.

A guard hits the wire with a truncheon, but they cannot control everywhere.

Guards try to stop them but cannot control all areas of the fence

One man reaches the train and clings to the buffers for the 25-mile journey through the tunnel. It is desperate, and dangerous.

The attempted mass storming is over quickly, but several asylum seekers are left on the tracks.

Some sit down, waiting for the French police to take them back to the Red Cross centre in Sangatte. Tomorrow they will try again.

'Act of defiance'

For the drivers, these are journeys of risk.

Mr Brooks said: "We've just got to go through careful enough that if any do try to board the train, we can stop the train quickly enough and get the people removed."

Moments later, a warning sounds.

Mr Brooks says: "We just ran over something then. There's something on the track.

"I'm not sure whether they think they're going to derail the train or whether it's an act of defiance because they've not made it tonight."

Recently, the brake-pipes of one of the trains was cut.

After midnight there will be no more freight trains running from France to England through the Tunnel.

Two trains

The reason is the sheer number of asylum-seekers on the track.

So on this day only two trains made the journey. Just a few months ago, that figure would have been 17.

The freight operators say things cannot continue like this.

Mr Brooks says: "We're just unable to move loads of trains from Calais. We can't offer the type of service our customer needs."

That night, at least six asylum-seekers that we knew of made it to Britain.