Living in a squalid camp and existing on handouts, migrants from EU 'who don't want a job'

But this squalid scene is not the makeshift shelter created by victims of some war-torn region, but the home of economic migrants in modern-day Britain.

It shows how many live after arriving from Eastern European countries hoping for a better life.

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Makeshift: The camp where around 20 migrants live. Shoes and clothes have been left out to dry after the storm

The pictures were taken in Peterborough, where the city council said many at the camp had refused offers of help to find work and accommodation.

It is home to around 20 Lithuanians, Slovakians, Poles, Ukrainians and Russians who live on charity handouts.

Sources say there could be up to 200 migrants living in a dozen similar temporary settlements around the city.

Many do not even have tents, but sleep in the open on the ground or in nests of blankets.

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Tent village: Peterborough City Council want to get rid of the immigrants living here

A city council spokesman said: "There's no shortage of work at rates that aren't too bad. They could work and could find accommodation but these people can't be bothered.

"They are wasters. They are giving migrant workers a bad name."

John Holdich, the councillor responsible for housing, said: "These migrants don't want to go home under any circumstances.

"Living in a tent seems to be better than living back home."

The camp is in a copse beside a railway siding just north of the city centre.

Shoes and blankets were hanging from trees yesterday, drying out from recent downpours.

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Pots and pans sat on grates, ready for fires to be lit when the residents returned from a shower and a change of clothes at a centre for the homeless.

A Lithuanian man, who declined to be named, said: "I was told I wouldn't go hungry in Britain and that is true.

"You can always find food. But there is not a house for me. I am very disappointed."

A 35-year-old woman said she had left a job as a shop assistant in Lithuania 18 months ago and had been living in camps on and off ever since.

"I don't want to go back to Lithuania. I came here because I heard that when you arrive there would be a job," she added.

A 30-year-old Polish man from another camp said: "After we joined the EU I heard it was possible to get housing and money, even if you haven't got a job.

"We don't want to go home. We came here to change our lives. I feel this country has let me down."

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Sleeping rough: Home to up to 20 Lithuanians, Slovakians, Poles, Ukrainians and Russians

The city council regularly moves the camps on, but the occupants simply move a short distance away.

Until recently, several tents were pitched near the River Nene in the Thorpe area.

David Smith, chairman of the residents' association, said: "There were piles of rubbish and human waste. It was filthy."

Peterborough has welcomed large numbers of migrants since the Second World War. It is popular because of the work available at farms and factories.

But the recent influx from Eastern Europe and other poor regions has put a strain on schools, hospitals and housing that has never been seen before.

Official figures put the population at 160,000, but the real figure is said to be 173,000.

A police authority report estimated new communities accounted for 64 per cent of Peterborough's population growth.

This has created cultural tensions - often among the newcomers. In 2004, groups of Pakistani residents clashed with Afghan and Iraqi asylum seekers.

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A Kurdish refugee had his home fire-bombed and a Lithuanian was murdered in nearby Wisbech.

Police officers have also increasingly been spending time investigating international sex-trafficking rings.

Last year the county's chief constable, Julie Spence, said more money was needed to pay for extra officers to police the streets.

"There were a lot of people who, because they used to carry knives for protection (in their home countries), think they can carry knives here," she said.

The Home Office said it did not keep figures for the number of homeless people from Eastern European countries.

Grub's up: The immigrants are given food hand-outs and only work occasional days