These are pictures which will startle and anger Britain. As the Government promises to stop the Channel boats every one of these men, women, and children are gathering at a bus stop near Dunkirk to catch a traffickers’ ride to Dover and a new life in England.
They were snapped at midday yesterday in Gravelines, a port on the French coast, by an astonished Daily Mail photographer passing by in a car.
All the migrants at the quayside bus stop were waiting for a free local ride to the beaches to run towards the boats which are now operated like a taxi service across to Dover.
In the pictures, the migrants were laughing, joking, believing that their dream of a house, a government living allowance, and the chance of asylum awaited them 21 miles across the English Channel.
‘There was a mood of relief,’ said the photographer, Steve Finn. ‘They didn’t seem stressed. It was the last leg of a long journey from Africa, the Middle East, Pakistan or north Africa.’
