Journalists attacked by migrants armed with pepper spray and a knife in the Calais Jungle

This is the shocking moment migrants armed with a "big knife" and pepper spray attacked journalists in Calais' notorious Jungle.

Dutch filmmaker Maaike Engels was filming with her colleague Teun Voeten when he was attacked and pushed into a tent by the three young men as they attempted to steal his camera.

Ms Engels continued to film even as she tried to fight the youngsters off, kicking one when he approached her with a knife before the three attackers were chased off by other refugees who threw stones at them.

Following the incident Ms Engels, who was in France filming a new documentary called Calais: Welcome to the Jungle, wrote on her Facebook page: "Within every community, among the good ones, you'll always find a couple of a**holes.

"The Jungle is no exception. But I guess living under such deplorable conditions the less creative, intelligent and ambitious are very likely to become small criminals, because they've got nothing higher to aim at."

Ms Engels posted the 41-second clip on YouTube and wrote in the description: "We were mugged by three refugees armed with pepper spray and a big knife.

"Luckily, nothing happened and a few other migrants from the camp in Calais came to our rescue."

Mr Voeten wrote on Facebook: "Nearly robbed in the Calais refugee camp by migrants while shooting with Maaike Engels for our doc.

"Other migrants came to the rescue. Nothing stolen and remarkable footage by the unflappable Maaike... (who actually kicked one of the attackers when he came lurching with a knife at her)..."

She told Breitbart London: "We have been documenting the jungle since September. What we want to achieve is to show the complexity of the immigration problem.

"The story is not one-sided but what is shown (and asked for by the media) is so much driven by emotions.

"No durable policy can derive from that. First Aylan [Kurdi], then Paris, now [Cologne]. We just don't want to take positions. [We want to] show all points of view. Both the refugees as well as the opponents."

But when photographer Mr Voeten, whose work has been featured in outlets such as Vanity Fair, the New York Times Magazine, posted the video to a Facebook group, he was shocked to be told to remove the video.

One wrote: "You are not doing yourself a favour by putting it online as I think this is not what you came for to Calais..."

Another added: "In the wrong hands this footage could be used irresponsibly."

Meanwhile French authorities have finally begun the demolition of the notorious Jungle camp in Calais, where several thousand migrants and refugees live.

Riot police entered the camp early on Monday morning, to assist in the clearing up of a part of the camp where French authorities are set to bulldoze a 330ft "buffer zone" between the camp and the adjacent motorway, which leads to the ferry port.

Last week, the local government in Calais announced that a third of the camp, an area home to some 1,500 of the camp's 6,000 residents, was to be destroyed, and those living in the area moved to purpose-built housing.

- Daily Mail