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Police in Calais have closed down a warehouse shelter for illegal migrants a day after it was opened by activists.

The shelter, in a disused warehouse close to the cross channel ferry port, had been provided by migrant activist group No Border, after police closed the notorious “Jungle” migrant camp near the town in September.

But determined to prevent the establishment of a another controversial camp, officers moved in to clear the warehouse yesterday morning (Sunday).

Migrants on site were allowed to leave through a police cordon but were prevented from returning to the building, while those who did not venture outside were enventually moved on once numbers had dwindled sufficiently to minimise the chance of confrontation.

The town attracts a large number of migrants who are looking to travel to the UK, and local politicians are quick to condemn those who support the illegals – many of whom are from Afghanistan.

Local mayor, Natacha Bouchart told reporters she had been preparing to instigate eviction proceeding if the clearance had not been successful and said: “We will not allow zealots to manipulate us and risk triggering an extreme response.”

The town’s stance is supported at a national level by immigration minister Eric Besson who has said a new migrant camp in Calais will not be allowed amid fears that it could be used as a cover for those engaged in human trafficking.

French police have arrested suspected Basque separatist terrorists.

In a joint operation with Spanish and Portuguese authorities, officers in France apprehended two individuals, believed to be working with the group ETA, a terror organisation demanding independence for the Basque country which straddles south western France and an area of northern Spain.

Spanish interior minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba gave a statement following the arrests on Saturday night and said: “There was an operation in the night and four arrests were made, two in France, two in Portugal, believed to be members of ETA.”

French police are believed to have arrested a man and a woman, who were found stopped at the side of a road in the Clermont Ferrand region of central France.

The pair, identified by Spanish authorities as Inaki Iribarren Galbete and Eider Uruburu Zabaleta, were driving a stolen and a search of the pair and their vehicle uncovered false number plates, weapons and false documentation.

Rubalcaba said the couple are part of ETA’s “military logistical apparatus” whose work had been detected thanks to a concerted effort by Frnach authorities.

The arrests are the result of an intelligence led approach to counter terrorism, and the culmination of an operation that began months ago in the Puy de Dome region of Central France.

Authorities in the area had become suspicious after a number of vehicle thefts by the terrorist groups and intensified their efforts to thwart the terror group, which is believed to be responsible for 828 deaths in 41-years they have been operational.