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French officials have consented to start stopping migrant vessels in the Channel, following months of pressure from the UK.

The change in policy comes after the British leader wrote to the French leader urging him to support the initiative and stating there presently "have no effective preventive measure" in the maritime passage.

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

French authorities have rarely acted to prevent the overcrowded boats departing from the shoreline because it is viewed as excessively high a risk to both personnel and civilians.

"It is essential that we deploy these methods this period... We have zero effective deterrent in the Channel."

Now, a French naval police representative states personnel will start taking action at sea, with the objective of protecting human life.

Significantly, the spokesperson excluded the use of entanglement devices to intercept boats, which had earlier been suggested as a possible technique to snarl the propellers of the vessels.

This determination to take action at all is a major step forward, following a brief shift towards a more aggressive strategy this summer, which ceased when the previous government official left government.

This was demonstrated in July, preceding a meeting between the Prime Minister and French president, when French police were witnessed walking into the sea to damage the hulls of a boat.

Now French officials will again be allowed to stop boats prior to they pick up asylum-seeking individuals from the beaches of France's north coast, although it's not clear how the small boats will be prevented.

Powerful gusts are currently postponing the start of interceptions and the people-smuggling networks will be looking for methods to adapt to evade interception, as they have frequently done in the past.

The Home Office and the Prime Minister's office have been approached for comment.

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