Britain is set to ramp up the fight against illegal immigrants – by erecting a two-mile fence known as the 'Ring of Steel'.

The high-security fence will be installed around the Eurotunnel terminal in Coquelles, France, where a flood of migrants currently board trains to Britain, according to the Express newspaper on Monday.

Work on the 9ft high fence will begin this week, according to Immigration Minister James Brokenshire, and is likely to finish in July.

The fence has been used to protect high-profile events such as last year's Nato summit in Newport, Wales, and the 2012 Olympic Games.

Now it is hoped it will protect cars and lorries leaving Coquelles from desperate stowaways determined to reach the UK.

The dramatic intervention comes after it was revealed that the number of stowaways entering Britain has doubled.