HOPELESS French cops arrived an hour after a group of migrants waved au revoir from a packed dinghy and headed to Britain yesterday.
Around 50 young East African men wearing life jackets were crammed on to the inflatable, which set off from near Dunkirk at around 5.30am yesterday.
A migrant gives a V for victory sign as the dinghy packed with around 50 men sails along the French coastReuters
Louis WoodPassengers from the abandoned vessel struggle through waist-high mud in the French estuary[/caption]
Louis WoodOne of the migrants rescued by French emergency crews climbs ladder to safety[/caption]
One put two fingers up in a Churchill-style V for victory salute as the vessel returned to shore a few miles down the coast at Gravelines.
The migrant “taxi boat” bobbed along in near-perfect sea conditions while waiting to pick up any stragglers who had spent the night sleeping in the sand dunes.
But it powered off into the sunrise over the Channel without any new passengers before a French search and rescue vessel escorted them to a Border Force boat.
An hour later, police arrived in a 4×4, with four hapless cops seen with their hands on their heads looking out to sea from the dunes.
One joked around with his baton as colleagues laughed shortly after missing the crossing, which made a mockery of the Government’s immigration deal with France to crack down on illegals reaching the UK.
The Sun found abandoned life jackets, discarded coats and shoes, punctured PVC dinghies and fuel cans left on the beach where the boat is believed to have left from.
A second group of around 20 migrants simultaneously grounded their vessel in the canal that runs inland through Gravelines before they could reach the Channel.
They abandoned ship at around 5.30am to evade the authorities but many got stuck in the estuary as they waded through waist-high mud.
‘Children can get stepped on or squashed’
One was heard yelling “I’m dying, I’m dying” as cops and firefighters came to their rescue by pulling them to safety using ladders and ropes.
Shocked locals watched as machinery was used to winch the inflatable out of the foul-smelling waters at around 1pm.
At least 600 migrants were believed to have arrived in the UK yesterday.
Border Force vessels Hurricane, Ranger and Typhoon were all involved in rescuing people in the Channel, including women and kids.
It came on the final day of French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to the UK to thrash out details of a new policy aimed at stopping the boats.
Just 50 migrants a week are expected to be returned during a trial period — with PM Sir Keir Starmer admitting a deterrent is needed after axing the Tories’ scheme to relocate asylum seekers to Rwanda.
At least 250 migrants were believed to have arrived in Dover on three boats before Macron and Starmer announced their ‘aggressive’ policy
It was initially hoped the new agreement would be a “one-in, one-out deal” — but based on the current influx at least 17 migrants will enter Britain illegally for every one returned to France, amounting to just 2,600 booted out each year.
Around 250 migrants were believed to have arrived in Dover on three boats before Macron and Starmer announced their “aggressive” policy.
Crossings continue to soar despite Britain giving £771million of taxpayer funding to the French since 2018 and £480million in the past three years.
Smugglers have adapted to avoid law enforcement by learning local canal systems and loading boats with people inland instead of on beaches.
They now operate a hop-on service by picking up passengers who lift sluice gates along the winding route before zooming into the Channel.
The boats are almost full by the time they reach open water — leaving powerless cops unable to slash them with knives like they can when on shore.
They are also launching from more secluded and wider beaches which are not patrolled as regularly.
On Wednesday evening, migrants cleared out of their camp in Loon-Plage and caught buses to hotspots ahead of their early hours crossings.
Dozens were prepared to risk their lives in budget orange life jackets bought from superstore Decathlon.
The sports shop’s branch near Dunkirk sells a variety of buoyancy aids for as little as £14.
Migrants were observed queuing among locals to pay for them in the full knowledge of why they were being purchased.
Osman, a migrant from Turkey, said: “The smugglers don’t care about our protection so it’s on us to try to make sure we don’t die.
“Sometimes the smugglers will give us cheap life jackets which are so bad. They act like sponges and soak up water which will only help you sink and drown.”
Sales of kayaks and dinghies which may be used to cross the Channel were previously banned but locals are now allowed to buy them by showing ID cards.
Other small boat passengers desperate to cross have even carried blow-up rubber rings designed for children playing in the waves.
Armed police are fighting a rise in IRA-style kneecap shootings carried out there by criminal people smugglers using scare tactics to spread fear and threaten rivals
The Sun can reveal greedy people-smugglers are dangerously cramming more Channel migrants into small boats than ever before.
An average of 64 people made the journey in each unsuitable dinghy in June — the first time the monthly number has surpassed 60 per boat.
So far this year, each vessel has averaged around 58 people — up 41 per cent from when the figure stood at 41 in 2022.
Migrant who was on inflatable, above in orange jumper, arrives in Dover after being brought in by Border Force officialsPA
Louis WoodThe dinghy was ditched on the canal to evade authorities before it could make the journey across the Channel[/caption]
Experts fear it will lead to more mass tragedies as the traffickers only focus on lining their pockets with huge profits.
Increasing the overcrowding also causes major problems for Border Force, who can only carry a total of 95 people on board their rescue vessels.
Lucy Moreton, a ISU trade union officer representing Border Force staff, warned they may need to ask for help on busy days.
She said: “We can take maybe one or two loads of people before we need to offload — whereas before it was three or four.
“On busy days this could mean relying on other agencies such as the coastguard or the RNLI.
“Saving lives at sea is what they do, so they would come to assist us — but it causes big problems for them, too.
“The other thing overcrowding does is put the vulnerable at risk — children can get squashed or stepped on.
“Unstable boats make getting people off them more difficult, and overcrowded boats are more unstable.
“There is always a risk of death, but we do what we can to prevent it.
“I think the smugglers do it because they can get away with it and profit from it.”
‘People-smuggling mafia shoot innocent people’
Hundreds of migrants living in the Loon-Plage tents have been gripped by warfare this week as Kurdish, Somalian and Afghan gangs battle for control.
Armed police are fighting a rise in IRA-style kneecap shootings carried out there by people-smugglers using scare tactics to spread fear and threaten rivals.
The punishment, involving firing bullets into the middle of the leg to cause extreme pain and even disability, is used to settle scores and territorial gangland feuds.
Some also punish migrants who try to organise their own voyages or board boats without paying — but the victims are almost always too scared to ID the gunmen.
Migrants had claimed any return deal between France and the UK would only drive them to make the dangerous 21-mile journey sooner before it is implemented
A senior French cop said: “The gun violence is getting worse every day.
“We’re used to gang fights with knives, but now guns are becoming more and more common.
“We’re dealing with extremely dangerous people — ones who think nothing of wounding through the worst non-lethal attacks.”
An Iraqi-Kurdish migrant was rushed to hospital after being shot four times in one leg and once in the other shortly after 3pm on Tuesday.
The 44-year-old was taken to hospital in Dunkirk where he remained last night in a condition described as “serious by not life-threatening”.
Another man required a tourniquet after being shot in the knee on Wednesday at the camp used as a “feeding station” by aid charities handing out food and water.
Dunkirk’s judicial police are investigating both incidents, according to the local prosecutor’s office.
Gabriel, 17, from war-torn South Sudan, said: “It’s not safe for us here. The people-smuggling mafia are shooting innocent people in the forest. I will do anything to get out.”
Last month, two Iranians died after being shot, while a Sudanese baby was also injured.
Anthony Quenson, a 38-year-old public service worker, hears gunshots reverberate around his house on the doorstep of the Loon-Plage camp.
The Frenchman said: “Macron is doing nothing about the migrants and it is getting out of control. It feels very dangerous to live here now.
“The authorities here don’t do anything to sort this problem out.”
Migrants had claimed any return deal between France and the UK would only drive them to make the dangerous 21-mile journey sooner before it is implemented.
Khalif, a 19-year-old Somalian who had been unsuccessful in crossing five times due to onboard motor issues, paid £1,200 euros to try again yesterday.
He said: “I’m not worried about Macron trying to make a deal and will keep trying.
“In France they don’t help us but in England they look after us. All I want is a better life than here.”
Somalian refugee Ibrahim, 32, added: “Politicians may try to stop us but we will go anyway for our safety.
“Macron is the problem. He makes us feel unwelcome as we have nothing here, unlike in England.”
Yesterday’s small boats were the first successful crossings since 517 migrants arrived in eight dinghies on Friday.
Another window of opportunity this morning could see hundreds more capitalise on 5mph winds to make the treacherous trip across the Dover Strait.
More than 21,000 migrants have arrived in over 350 boats so far in 2025 which is a record for this point of the year, according to official government stats.
Louis WoodCops, who arrived an hour after the small boat left for the UK, joke around with a baton[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
