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France has agreed to start intercepting migrant vessels in the Channel, following months of insistence from the UK.

This policy shift follows the British leader wrote to the President asking him to support the plan and saying there currently "have no effective deterrent" in the Channel.

French security forces will be allowed to intercept the small boats at sea, but only before they've collected their migrants, according to official confirmation.

French authorities have rarely intervened to prevent the overcrowded boats departing from the coastline because it is viewed as too great a danger to both officers and civilians.

"It is essential that we implement these tactics this month... We have no effective prevention in the Channel waters."

Currently, a French naval police spokesperson states personnel will start intervening at sea, with the objective of protecting human life.

Notably, the official ruled out the use of entanglement devices to intercept boats, which had earlier been suggested as a potential method to disable the engines of the vessels.

The decision to take action at all is a significant step forward, following a brief shift towards a more aggressive strategy this summer, which ceased when the former government official left government.

That was highlighted in the summer month, in the run-up to a meeting between the UK leader and French president, when French police were observed wading into the sea to damage the sides of a boat.

Now French authorities will once more be permitted to intercept boats before they collect migrant passengers from the coastal areas of northern France, although it's not clear how the vessels will be prevented.

Powerful gusts are currently delaying the start of interceptions and the people-smuggling gangs will be seeking methods to adjust to evade detection, as they have frequently done in the past.

UK immigration authorities and Downing Street have been contacted for comment.

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