The makeshift homes of more than 100 Afghan children were razed to the ground last night as calls were made for Britain to take in some of the youngsters forced from the Jungle immigrant camp in Calais.
The shanty village, where some have lived for eight months, was reduced to a dusty wasteland after the dawn swoop by French police.
Refugee groups have condemned the operation, in which up to 600 officers surrounded the site, leading to angry scenes and scuffles.
Their criticism came amid calls for Britain to consider taking in some of the dozens of detained child immigrants.
French authorities said 278 people were being held by police, including 132 who declared themselves as children. Later, bulldozers and tree surgeons moved in to clear the area.
Refugee Council policy manager Gemma Juma branded the camp’s “hideous” conditions as shameful and called on Britain to look at taking in any children with links to this country.
“We’ve always been concerned about the vulnerability of the people living in hideous conditions,” she said. “The fact that so many are so young should make us ashamed that a better solution hasn’t been found before now. We need to make sure all of those children are safe and properly looked after.
“If this means, in a small number of cases, bringing them to the UK to be reunited with friends and family then, as an option, that should not be ruled out.”
Refugee Action’s Julia Ravenscroft said last night: “There were some distressing scenes and some very young people taken from the camp.
“The fact that the French had let people know what was going to happen in the morning meant that some of the very vulnerable, including children, were left behind.”
Children’s Society policy adviser Lisa Nandy added: “We are concerned by the reports that children have been detained.
“They should be given the opportunity to claim asylum in the UK and elsewhere.”
Prefect of Pas-de-Calais, Pierre de Bousquet de Florian, said the detained adults were taken to various police stations and the children to “special centres”.
Police circled the camp at dawn. There were scuffles as the camp dwellers, some in tears, were led away.
The site has been home to hundreds of mainly Afghan asylum seekers.
French immigration minister Eric Besson hailed the operation: “My objective was not to round up the greatest possible number of migrants by surprising them at dawn, but to destroy the continuous flow of trafficked human beings.”
Home Secretary Alan Johnson praised the “swift and decisive” clearing of the site by French authorities. He said genuine refugees should apply for asylum in the country where they entered the EU.