Hundreds of migrants at the Greek-Macedonian border today faced wet weather and police aggression as they waited in a muddy no-man's land to cross the border into Macedonia.

Many had spent the previous night sleeping outdoors under the chilling rain in makeshift camps near the border.

On arrival at the border control point, they were greeted by Macedonian riot police, some of whom used their batons against the migrants as they waited to cross.

Greece is ferrying thousands of migrants from its islands to the mainland on a daily basis, and a bottleneck is forming at the border with Macedonia.

For most migrants, the ultimate goal is Germany, where they hope they will be able to apply for asylum.

Migrants and refugees walking along a busy Hungarian road attempted to shelter from the rain as they continued their journey towards Austria and Germany.

There have been some buses to take migrants from near the Serbian border to transit camps in other parts of the country, closer to Hungary's western border with Austria, but many prefer to make their own way.

Most migrants want to avoid registration in Hungary, which involves giving fingerprints, because they fear that registering for asylum in Hungary may prevent them from leaving for Germany and other, wealthier, countries.

But, their only other option is to continue their journey illegally through back roads in a desperate attempt to reach Austria, a stepping stone towards Germany.