Hundreds continue protests in Budapest as authorities block train stations

Hundreds of refugees stranded outside Budapest's main international railway station have started protesting for a second day as authorities continue to block them from travelling to other countries.

On Wednesday, the refugees started shouting "freedom, freedom" and called to be let onto trains as Hungarian authorities said for a second day that they would prevent anyone without a valid visa from entering the station.

A spokesperson for the Hungarian government, meanwhile, reiterated that: "In the territory of the EU, illegal migrants can travel onwards only with valid documents and observing EU rules.

"A train ticket does not overwrite EU rules."

By Wednesday morning, the AP news agency reported that the number of refugees gathered outside Keleti station had swollen to 3,000, as police bolstered their numbers with citizen patrols in an attempt to keep order.

Volunteers usually accustomed to providing food, clothing and medical assistance to a few hundred migrants at a time were struggling with large numbers of people crammed outside the station's main entrance.