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The men were walking along one of the main rail tunnels, with high speed Eurostar trains  passing just feet away when they were stopped at 8.30 on Wednesday morning (2 January), police said.

Eurostar passengers faced three hours of delays to trains in both directions while French frontier police officers and a French Channel Tunnel fire crew arrested the immigrants and returned them to France.

A Calais frontier police spokesman added: "They were risking their lives by walking against the tunnel wall, very close to trains passing at high speed.

"They were glimpsed by a train driver passing them at about 100mph, who immediately alerted the authorities.

"Trains were stopped while police and fire teams used the main service tunnel to catch up with the immigrants and head them off.

"They have been arrested and are being held in custody by frontier police in Calais."

The four men, who have been in Calais for several weeks, now face prosecution for breaking and entering into Eurotunnel property and could be jailed for up to a year before being deported, the spokesman said.