A VOLUNTEER from Bury has witnessed tear gas attacks and devastating fires as demolition work continues at the Calais 'Jungle' migrant camp.

Emily Owen, from Sunnybank, is distributing aid to refugees at the camp, which French authorities began tearing down on Monday.

On Saturday night, she saw police set off tear gas and, on Tuesday night, charities reported that fires had destroyed safe spaces for children, as well as a bus for women and children and a makeshift youth centre.

The 22-year-old, who studies at Bangor University and is a Labour county councillor in Wales, said: "I was having dinner on Saturday night when they started setting off tear gas. It was everywhere and we got stuck in the camp for a while.

"It was really quite horrendous to witness. It is far from the ideal situation.

"The demolition has started now and I am on the outskirts of the camp. So far it has gone relatively slowly and smoothly for the most part, which is a good sign.

"We need to make sure that the demolition is going to be safe for people.

"I have been doing a lot of legal forms for refugees to make sure they understand their rights if they are arrested. It isn't an easy thing to explain to people.

"There is a lot of media coverage around the camp at the moment, which I think has made the police more reasonable.

"But before this week they weren't at all like the British police. They can be quite violent at times and my friends have witnessed police taking shoes away from refugees so they can't leave the camp."

As the fires raged on Tuesday night, she posted on Facebook: "We seriously need to get our acts together and get these minors to safety. They do not deserve to be going through this.

"Please everyone keep lobbying. You're doing a fabulous job. Get on to your MPs, email the PM and home office, put the pressure on to get them to safety."

On Tuesday, 1,636 people, including 372 minors, passed through the registration centre on the edge of the sprawling camp, taking the total so far to more than 4,000.

Charities criticised the decision to proceed with demolition while there were still children unaccounted for in the camp, with Save the Children and Unicef calling it "unacceptable."