The first official port barrier is a French security checkpoint where passports are scanned. Mr Fleming told the BBC lorries then move on to be either X-rayed or tested with a monitor which detects any heartbeats on board. He says all lorries are checked at quiet times, but it becomes a 'lottery' when the port is busy because staff cannot process vehicles fast enough. Lorries then have documents checked by UK border staff and must also pass a customs checkpoint before driving on to a ferry. The port also has roving patrols of security guards with dogs and carbon dioxide detectors - which can detect raised levels caused by people breathing in the lorries. Image copyright AFP The port is protected by 16ft (5m) fences topped with coils of razor wire and CCTV, with the gates and exterior guarded by heavily armed French riot police. Inside, there is a 'comprehensive network of surveillance cameras', according to, and security guards patrol with dogs.
Brexit border chaos will cause huge delays and cost £1bn a year, says report Analysis from economic consultancy Oxera says cost to UK of new customs checks and ensuing delays could amount to more.
Uk Customs And Border Protection
In 2014, Britain committed to tackle the problems at Calais, and part of this is being used to build a 15ft fence along the motorway leading to the port. As well as the three-year Calais investment, the UK announced £2m extra for detection technology such as the heartbeat and carbon dioxide detectors, and £1m for more dog searches. In August 2015, the UK and France on new measures in Calais, including a 'control and command centre' and the deployment of 500 extra British and French police. The UK agreed to pay £7m over two years towards the new measures, in addition to money previously pledged. In January 2016 scores of migrants after breaking away from a demonstration in the town. Following the incident, Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said extra forces, including riot police, gendarmes and border units, had been mobilised for several months. Image copyright AFP French police have been widely criticised for taking migrants off lorries, driving them a few miles away then releasing them - free to walk back to Calais.