French authorities have finally promised to intercept small boats in Channel waters as figures reveal a migrant reached Britain every four-and-a-half minutes last week.
A new ‘maritime doctrine’ set to come into operation next month allows French police officers to block dinghy departures within 300 yards of the shoreline.
Currently, they are barred from intercepting any boat once it is in the water.
But gendarmes have expressed concerns over their safety when the new policy comes into force.
The new rules will be introduced after Channel migrants reaching the UK topped 2,000 in a week for the first time in 21 months, following 489 arrivals on Tuesday.
