Sangatte camp strained relations between France and the UK

Charles Frammezelle and Jean-Claude Lenoir were found guilty of helping refugees but excused punishment as they had "served a humanitarian cause".

The pair had admitted housing refugees so they would not have to sleep in the street after the camp closed in 2002.

Prosecutors had called for a three-month jail sentence for the pair.

The infamous Sangatte Red Cross centre near Calais, in northern France, housed around 67,000 migrants between 1999 and 2002.

It shut down after a deal between France and the UK government, which saw it as a haven for people-smugglers and a base for illegal entry into the UK.

I couldn't stand knowing they were living outside without shelter when it was pouring with rain Charles Frammezelle

Asylum-seekers from the camp made nightly attempts to cross the nearby Channel Tunnel stowed away on trains and lorries.

Frammezelle and Lenoir, from a humanitarian campaign group, helped 10 refugees from Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran or Kosovo get off the streets.

The pair were found not guilty of providing housing for illegal immigrants, saying they had provided humanitarian aid.

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But the court did find them guilty of helping illegal immigrants in an organised group and of allowing their own names to be used to transfer funds on somebody else's behalf.

Frammezelle told French radio: "I was hosting refugees. Most of the time they were minors.

"I couldn't stand knowing they were living outside without shelter when it was pouring with rain, when it was very cold in the winter."

After the hearing, they vowed to continue their activities in order to pressure local authorities to do more.

A group of around 50 protesters demonstrated in front of the court, carrying banners which said: "Solidarity is not a crime."