Chaotic frontline of the Ceuta migrant invasion where young men swim for 6hrs in children’s rubber rings to reach Europe

PERCHED on craggy outcrops in the sea off Ceuta, dozens of migrants dreaming of a new life in Europe took extreme measures to avoid police capture. In chaotic scenes, I watched on Sunday as one youngster – a child’s bluerubber ring around his waist – emerged out of the waves from the direction of Morocco and led officers in hot pursuit. One hapless migrant emerged from the waves in a child’s blue swim ring Credit: Ian Whittaker Witnesses described him running from police – while still wearing the ring Credit: Ian Whittaker Swarms of people snaking across the streets of Ceuta Credit: Ian Whittaker Migrants allegedly set cars ablaze Credit: Ian Whittaker He dodged police several times by jumping back into the swell, receiving a joyous chorus of cheers from other migrants on their island vantage points. Wading through the seawater, shirtless Moroccan student Anas Soltany, 20, among the thousands -strong mob who stormed the border last Thursday, told me: “I swam for six hours to reach the EU. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! “I want to be free.” Standing on the EU territory’s rocky beach, student Hamid Nafe, 21, told me had swum to the Ceuta because “Morocco is hell. Viva Espana.” Tens of thousands of people swam past the border between Morocco and the Spanish enclave Credit: Ian Whittaker Staring out over the Strait of Gibraltar, he said: “I want to go to Germany. “I’ll do any work. I need to provide for my family.” On Thursday some 60,000 migrants either swam or stormed the Ceuta border as part of the biggest influx of migrants to the EU on a single day in its history. At least 75 migrants are believed to have died as border security was overwhelmed. Most read in The Sun While tens of thousands have been deported by the Spanish military, many remain with plans to reach the European mainland Driving ten-minutes inland, I saw Spanish armed forces using armoured vehicles to surround a group of few dozen migrants on Sunday afternoon. Sweltering in the high humidity and 33C temperatures, many of the mainly Moroccan young men took their shirts off and wrapped them around their heads as makeshift sun hats. Nearby, hundreds of others lie hungry and listless on a steep road leading to an already-full immigration centre. The Spanish Army rounded up the migrants – mostly Moroccan men Credit: Ian Whittaker Sun reporter Oliver Harvey is on the ground in Ceuta, witnessing the chaos first hand Credit: Ian Whittaker Guarded by police, the complex houses around 600 migrants who have access to water and food. Others, like barefoot Mahummad Alkali, shelter beneath eucalyptus trees to gain some respite from the unrelenting sun. The 18-year-old told me: “I swam around the border fence on Thursday from Morocco. I heard people were crossing in social media so I joined them. “Since then I’ve slept on the ground wherever I can find. I have water but no food.” The science student said he fled ISIS-linked Boko Haram terrorists in his Nigerian homeland. The teenager added: “They have attacked me many times. They kill people. “I want to stay in Spain. I’ll do any job.” Those with funds hope to book a ride on a speedboat or jetski for nine-mile journey across the Strait of Gibraltar to mainland Europe. Cops detained one speedboat with 11 nationals onboard. Migrant Hamid Nafe claimed that ‘Morocco is hell’ Credit: Ian Whittaker Albert Julibert witnessed the cat-and-mouse police hunts in Ceuta Credit: Ian Whittaker Meanwhile many locals in Ceuta – population 84,000 – have been left fearful after they were swamped by the influx. Watching the cat and mouse scenes unfold between cops and migrants on the beach, Albert Julibert, 21, a trainee pilot from the Spanish mainland, told me: “The situation in Ceuta is very bad. “The hospitals are overwhelmed.” Today, life is returning to normal in Ceuta and police and the army continue to round up the remianing migrants in the territory. At the border with Morocco – breached with ease by thousands last week – I met one disconsolate youngster trudging back to his homeland. Shirtless and bedraggled, Ayoub Aouladbouchta, 20, had swum for two hours to reach the EU territory. The student told me: “I’ve been here for four days but ended up sleeping on the beach with no food or water.’ Passing Spanish soldiers, he was directed along a beach path, by-passing passport control. Chaos reigned across the tiny Spanish enclave after a surge of people stormed the border Credit: Ian Whittaker Ayoub Aouladbouchta, 20, returned home to Morocco after spending the night homeless Credit: Ian Whittaker Ayoub said he won’t be returning, his dream of a new life in Europe was over. Comment now