At least five men including two security guards have been shot dead close to a migrant camp in Northern France.

The blood bath unfolded near the beach at Loon Plage, close to Dunkirk, where small boats regularly set off to Britain.

Police in northern France said a person had turned themselves in on Saturday claiming to have killed five people in the Dunkirk area.

Officials confirmed two security guards and two migrants were killed in the area, while a fifth person was slain in Wormhout, around three miles (five kilometres) south of the Channel port city. 

The suspect turned himself in to a police station in Ghyvelde just east of Dunkirk, claiming to have perpetrated all the killings, a source familiar with the investigation said without providing more details about the incident. 

The local prefecture said an investigation had been opened into the deaths. 

It comes after special forces police were first called to the camp on the Mardyck Road soon after 4pm on Saturday afternoon after reports of ‘a lone gunman killing people’, an investigating source said. 

He added: ‘Four people were shot dead around the camp at Mardyck – two security guards and two migrants.

The blood bath unfolded near the beach at Loon Plage, close to Dunkirk, from where small boats regularly set off to Britain (file image)

There are frequent reports of gun and knife violence around the migrant camps in northern France

‘The gunman is also said to have shot a transport manager earlier in the afternoon on Saturday.’

The migrants are said to be of Kurdish origin and to have died of gunshot wounds near an oil refinery.

Soon after the initial slaying, the gunman killed two security guards who were guarding corporate premises nearby.

The first shooting is said to have taken place at Wormhout, some 15 miles inland from Dunkirk.

And the first victim was said to be in his 30s, and ‘killed in front of his relatives, in what looked like a targeted assassination.’

The gunman was described as being aged 22, and ‘unknown to the authorities before today.’

He turned himself in to gendarmes at Ghyvelde and was in custody on Saturday evening, facing murder charges.

When his car was searched, multiple weapons were found in the boot.

Violence in the area often involves people smugglers who control the illegal trade in people travelling to Britain to claim asylum (file image)

By 7pm, the area was flooded with police and emergency services vehicles, as roadblocks were set up.

Soldiers also arrived in the area, because of fears that the killer might be working with accomplices.

Identities of the gunman and his victims were not immediately released, said Eric Rommel, the Mayor of Loon Plage.

There are frequent reports of gun and knife violence around the migrant camps in northern France.

They often involve people smugglers who control the illegal trade in people travelling to Britain to claim asylum.