France arrests 150 migrants in Calais "jungle"

French police have arrested almost 150 migrants near the port of Calais in a raid on a sprawling tent city of people trying to secretly cross to Britain, authorities said.

Hundreds of migrants, mostly from Iraq, Afghanistan and Eritrea, live in makeshift tents in the woods near Calais, known locally as the "jungle", as they wait for their chance to board a truck and cross the Channel.

The three-hour raid on Tuesday morning was aimed at cutting off the smuggling channels, local authorities said. The arrested migrants are being held for questioning.

France is struggling to control the growing "jungle", which sprang up after it closed a Red Cross shelter in the area in 2002 that Britain saw as a haven for illegal migrants.

French Immigration Minister Eric Besson is expected to visit Calais later this week. He said earlier this month that more people have managed to cross the Channel over the past year or two, and that people-trafficking networks were becoming more sophisticated.

Many of the migrants speak English and believe it will be easier to find work in Britain.