The RNLI has rehearsed a major migrant rescue drill amid claims the lifeboat charity has become a 'ferry service' for asylum seekers.
The training to save future small boat migrants took place at Poole Bay, Dorset and saw 40 volunteers in wetsuits dive into the sea before being fished out by lifeboats.
It was led by Border Force, which intercepts small boats in the English Channel and brings passengers across to Dover.
In recent years the RNLI has been accused of aiding illegal immigration by acting as a 'taxi service' for asylum seekers making the crossing.
An anti-immigration demonstration was staged outside the lifesaving charity's headquarters in Poole in May during which protesters said it shouldn't fall on the RNLI to 'ferry' migrants across the Channel.
