MIGRANTS are ditching Calais to make their bids for Britain from the Belgian port of Zeebrugge, sparking fears a new Jungle shanty camp is about to sprout up.

Tensions are mounting in the quiet village on the Belgian coast which has seen a spike of refugees settling around its port which runs a P&O route to Hull.

And port sources have told Express.co.uk poor levels of security could also make Zeebrugge a soft target in comparison with Calais and Dunkirk.

Belgian authorities have stopped 890 migrants without residency papers since January - 450 of which travelled to Zeebrugge which is seven miles from the tourist hotspot Bruges. Dozens of traffickers have also been detained.

Most of the arrivals are thought to have come from French camps in Calais and Dunkirk which are home to 8,000 migrants.

Many refugees appeared to have left Calais for Zeebrugge after authorities tightened security around the French port and started bulldozing parts of the Jungle.

The sudden influx has sparked fears of Zeebrugge becoming a new magnet for migrants wanting to reach the UK, with politicians warning the town could become a “second Calais”.

Many others are trafficked in by German smuggling gangs, government leaders claim.

http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/643611/Zeebrugge-Calais-Jungle-Belgium-France-migrants-crisis-refugees-Europe