Hundreds of Colombians waded across a border river with refrigerators, chickens and mattresses on their backs - victims of an escalating dispute with the Venezuelan government.

They were followed by goats and children under a scorching tropical sun.

Saying they were forced from their rickety wooden or corrugated metal homes and scared of what might happen next if they stayed in Venezuela, they fled across the River Tachira back to their homeland on Tuesday.