Brave translators who worked with British forces during the war on terror in the Middle East are now living in squalor in Calais refugees camps.
Extremists in Afghanistan are said to be targeting those who once collaborated with Western forces.
To avoid being attacked, some have travelled to Calais, northern France, in a bid to cross the Channel to claim asylum in the country they once defended, a charity says.
Andy Brown is a volunteer at Care 4 Calais, which provides food and care for refugees in the city.
He said: “If they have served with the Brits in the Afghan army, they are now marked men and have to get out of Afghanistan. Now they are living in refugee camps and considering risking their lives to get to the UK. How can that be right?”
British forces operated in Afghanistan from 2001-14. Mr Brown said French authorities are dispersing camps regularly to make the area “inhospitable” for refugees.
Along with the warm weather, this has led to a “perfect storm” in Channel crossings in recent weeks.
He said: “Calais is a hostile environment with 15-year-old children sleeping in ditches,” he said.
Mr Brown said French authorities cut food supplies if there is so much as an spat in the queue. He said: “Last week they had no food for two days.
"It’s all to create a hostile environment which fuels dangerous attempts to get to England. You only put your child in danger in the sea if it’s that dangerous on the land.
"I see tragedies every week. There are so many children who should be in school. It’s far worse now than it has been for a long time."
Labour’s Shadow Home Secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds said: "The approach being pursued by Government is lacking in competence and compassion, resulting in thousands of people risking their lives. Criminal gangs continue to profit.
"The situation has been exacerbated by Government rhetoric, when they should have been concentrating on [finding] a viable, humanitarian, practical solution."
Meanwhile, the Home Office has made a formal request for military assistance from the Royal Navy to help tackle Channel crossings.
But the Mayor of Calais, Natacha Bouchart, branded it a “declaration of maritime war” and said the UK Government must take responsibility for the crisis. It came as more migrants arrived in the UK yesterday, for the ninth day in a row.
Seventy-one arrived in six boats, bringing the total to cross the Channel this year to 4,468.
The RAF yesterday said it sent a maritime patrol aircraft to help support border control in the Channel.
