French police stop four migrant boats from heading to the UK, a day after British crews came to the rescue of a crowded vessel after it drifted away from the French coastguard.

French national police this morning stopped the departure of four migrant boats seeking to cross to the United Kingdom.

“This morning between 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. in the Slack zone in Wimereux, the National Police foiled the departure of 4 migrant boats seeking an illegal maritime crossing,” the authorities said in a press release on X.

They also added that two individuals suspected of being smugglers had been arrested.

It comes just a day after British crews rescued an overloaded inflatable boat with around 50 people on board that had drifted away from the French coastguard.

Two RNLI lifeboats were urgently sent from Dover and Walmer to the English Channel on Wednesday when fears were raised that the ship would capsize after veering into a shipping lane off Calais.

The small boat pictured full of migrants was launched yesterday morning from Sangette beach in northern France, with passengers appearing to make the most of the basin’s conditions.

Footage from the rescue mission showed a French coastguard boat trying to help the black inflatable as it headed aimlessly towards the dangerous shipping lanes of the Strait of Pas de Calais.

Although the rubber boat appeared to be struggling under the weight of the many people on board, its small engine had managed to propel the boat with enough power to carry it away from the coast of Calais and miles out to sea.

Horror footage showed many of the desperate migrants clinging to the flimsy boat were not wearing life jackets, and some were also seen clinging to babies and young children.

The boat is believed to have drifted into British waters, with lifeboats and British coastguard vessels launched in a bid to rescue the asylum seekers.

As the boat drifted further and further away from French rescuers, and towards the UK, teams from the RNLI and Coastguard intervened.

The chaotic sequence of events unfolded after migrants reportedly overpowered police officers on Sangatte beach in northern France early Wednesday morning.

They managed to launch the vessel with dozens of people on board, a witness said, before the boat drifted along the coast.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “The unacceptable numbers of people continuing to cross the Channel demonstrate exactly why we need to get flights to Rwanda off the ground as soon as possible.

“We continue to work closely with French police who are facing increasing violence and disruption on their beaches as they work tirelessly to prevent these dangerous, illegal and unnecessary trips.

“We remain committed to building on the successes which saw arrivals fall by more than a third last year, including tougher legislation and agreements with international partners, to save lives and stop the boats .”

Another group of migrants were also intercepted by a Border Force ship and escorted to Dover, Kent, early yesterday.

The mostly male group was seen wearing orange life jackets and disembarking from the catamaran shortly after 8am.

It was revealed today that one of the migrants was attacked by two men on a beach in France before boarding the inflatable boat.

He was found with stab wounds after crossing the Channel and was taken to hospital in an ambulance for treatment of his injuries, which were described as non-threatening.

He told police in Kent that he had been “attacked on a beach near Calais by two men who then remained in France while he made the crossing to the UK”.

The man was on one of eight dinghies that reached British shores, carrying more than 400 migrants on one of the busiest crossing days so far this year.

No arrests have yet been made over the assault, with detectives saying they are passing details of what happened to French authorities for further investigation.

Around sixty other migrants on board his boat were also checked.

A Kent Police spokesperson said: “On Wednesday March 20 at 12:52 p.m., Kent Police received a report of a man with injuries consistent with stab wounds, following the arrival of a small boat at Dover Western Docks.

“The man was transported to a local hospital for treatment and has since been released. He reported being attacked on a beach near Calais by two men who then remained in France while he crossed to the United Kingdom.

In the early hours of Tuesday, French police also stormed a beach near Calais to prevent 60 asylum seekers from entering the UK via the English Channel.

The National Police tweeted: “During the night from Monday to Tuesday on the beach of Hemmes de Marck, the Pas-de-Calais #police officers prevented the departure of around sixty people aboard several makeshift boats towards the Britain.”

The same day, 61 migrants were intercepted in a dinghy, according to official figures, and taken to Dover on board a Border Force ship.

Official British government figures show 3,468 migrants have crossed the Channel in 73 dinghies so far this year, an average of 48 people per boat.

This month’s total stands at 1,213 migrants spread across 25 boats.

Neither dataset includes yesterday’s arrivals, which have yet to be confirmed.

Last year, 29,437 migrants made the crossing – which is a significant drop on 2022, when 45,755 people reached the UK.

At least 75 migrants have died in the Channel since the start of the crisis five years ago.

Earlier this month, a seven-year-old girl drowned earlier this month in a French waterway while heading to the English Channel.

It comes just three days after three other migrants died when their boat ran into trouble.