By James Coomarasamy BBC Paris correspondent

Officials in Cherbourg have said they are worried that their town could become the focus for asylum seekers wanting to reach Britain.

The fears follow the decision to close down the Sangatte refugee camp near Calais.

The mayor of Cherbourg has written to the French interior minister to express his concern after three dozen refugees, believed to be Iraqis, were found squatting in a municipal building.

The discovery has put the authorities in Cherbourg on alert.

In his letter to the interior minister, the town's mayor said he was concerned that the decision to close the Sangatte camp would mean that asylum seekers trying to reach Britain would increasingly come to other channel ports, such as his.

Route to UK

The refugees - aged between 15 and 30 - were found in a disused municipal building at the end of last week.

It is thought they had travelled from Iraq, via Turkey and Germany - and were heading towards the UK.

Last month the British and French governments announced the Sangatte Red Cross centre, near Calais, would close before the end of next March - on condition that Britain tightened its immigration laws.