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

The change in policy comes after the British leader wrote to the French leader asking him to support the plan and saying there currently "have no effective preventive measure" in the Channel.

French security forces will be allowed to intercept the migrant vessels at sea, but only before they've collected their passengers, according to authoritative statements.

French authorities have infrequently acted to stop the heavily loaded boats leaving the coastline because it is considered too great a danger to both officers and civilians.

"It is crucial that we deploy these tactics this period... We have no effective prevention in the Channel waters."

Now, a French naval police spokesperson says officers will start taking action at sea, with the objective of safeguarding lives.

Significantly, the official excluded the use of nets to intercept boats, which had previously been suggested as a potential technique to snarl the propellers of the boats.

The decision to take action at all is a major step forward, following a brief change towards a more aggressive approach this warmer season, which dropped off when the previous government official departed from government.

This was demonstrated in July, preceding a summit between the UK leader and President, when authorities were observed walking into the sea to damage the hulls of a vessel.

Currently French officials will again be allowed to intercept boats before they pick up asylum-seeking passengers from the coastal areas of France's north coast, however it's not clear how the small boats will be stopped.

Strong winds are presently postponing the start of interceptions and the people-smuggling networks will be looking for ways to adjust to evade interception, as they have frequently done in the past.

UK immigration authorities and the Prime Minister's office have been approached for comment.

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