Idris Elba, Gillian Anderson and Simon Pegg ask David Cameron to open doors to child refugees

Celebrities including Idris Elba, Simon Pegg, Helena Bonham Carter, Frankie Boyle, Gillian Anderson, Shappi Khorsandi and Stephen Fry have written to David Cameron asking him to allow child refugees in Calais to enter the UK.

In an open letter, 145 well-known figures from the arts, business and sport asked the prime minister to permit unaccompanied minors to join relatives they have in the country.

The letter read: "The recent announcement by the Calais prefecture to raze the Southern part of the 'Jungle' refugee camp in Calais is an act that if allowed to happen, will destroy the temporary homes of over 3,000 people including 443 children. Many of these people are amongst the most vulnerable in the camps as this is where the majority of families and unaccompanied minors currently live."

The signatories, who said in the letter they had 'seen first-hand' the suffering of those in Calais' jungle camp, requested that the British government do three things; "create an expedited process for the implementation of Dublin III's family reunion provisions so that all minors who are currently residing in the camps in Calais and Dunkirk with family connections in the UK are able to reunite with their loved ones with immediate effect.

"Ensure that those minors who have no legal right to come to the UK are protected and supported within France and that the French child protection process is also expedited to afford them the protection they are entitled to."

And "persuade the French authorities that the decision to destroy further parts of the camp in Calais is postponed until all the minors currently residing there are either given child protection within the French system or enabled to reunite with their loved ones in Britain."

Following a February visit to the camp, actor Jude Law described the conditions refugees were forced to live in as 'horrific'.

He said in a statement: "Last week I visited the camp, and met some of these unaccompanied children who have no choice but to endure the horrific conditions of the Jungle.

"These are innocent, vulnerable children caught up in red tape with the frightening prospect of the demolition of the Jungle hanging over them. David Cameron and the British Government must urgently work with the French authorities to alleviate this humanitarian crisis."

One part of the jungle camp was bulldozed recently and a mosque, a church and a school demolished, while the inhabitants of that area of the camp were rehomed in converted shipping crates.

However, the threat of further demolitions will destroy the homes of many children and families who have already faced the trauma of being uprooted, charities say.

Liz Clegg, of the unofficial women and children's centre said: "We are horrified that the French Government have chosen to take this action and clear the southern part of the jungle in Calais, where the majority of families and children are presently living. This includes hundreds of unaccompanied children as young as 10. The UN, Europe and France itself have clear guidelines with regards to the treatment of minors."

Clegg continued: "We have been in the jungle for six months working with women and children, and not a single representative of the government or main aid agencies have approached us to start identifying who these children are. If the eviction takes place it is likely we will lose contact with many of these children and they will be subjected to further suffering and great danger. We beg the government to hold off with this eviction until appropriate child protection measures are put in place."