A priest who has just returned from what remains of the Calais 'jungle' has called for a UK consulate to be set up there to process claims for asylum.

Fr Dominic Howarth visited the migrants camp with relief supplies. He described it as a "searingly sad" place following the bulldozing of two-thirds of it by French authorities, which has left the Eritrean Church of St Michael isolated from what had been a thriving community and left "like an island in the mud".

"Nothing is straightforward, but there is one definite thing the UK Government could do: put a consulate in Calais. This would mean that the (at least) hundreds who have genuine asylum claims in the UK, with family here, would not first face a perilous and illegal journey across the Channel. It would be a statement of true justice, and integrity. Surely it is better than spending money on any more fences?"

Around 4,500 people still live in the camp, in a smaller area than before. Approximately 1,500 live in containers provided by the authorities behind a large fence, while the others live in tents and shacks.

In a report posted on Seeking Sanctuary's website, Howarth, a priest in Basildon, Essex, said: "It could not look or feel more like a prison if it had been designed to be one. It is soul-less, and soul destroying, and without the community hubs that there used to be, people are just existing."

He added: "It was hard – very hard – to see the great expanse of bulldozed area. This is the consequence of ruinous decisions of Governments that see the refugees, it seems, only as a security risk and no longer as people, as sisters and brothers who have fled war and horror."

Howarth referred to a moving experience in the church of St Michael, where his party met three French nuns quietly praying for the refugees. He also praised the work of a new charity, Play4Calais, which is creating a football pitch near the church. "Some of the greatest difficulty in Calais, for adults and children alike, is complete boredom," he said. "The more so for those living in the ghastly metal containers. What is there to do? How do you keep your mind and heart stimulated in any way?

"Play4Calais is providing sports kit and equipment, and has also cleverly used part of the area razed to the ground by levelling it, covering it with sand, and thus creating the beginnings of a proper football pitch. Goals have been purchased, and footballs, and this facility will undoubtedly be well used."