People seen boarding a small boat in France
The dinghy carrying them set off across the Channel towards Dover
A group of migrants have been seen boarding a small boat towards the UK this morning, leaving many others on the French coast after a dinghy deflated.
A group of men and women carrying some small children were pictured waiting to cross the Channel on Gravelines beach in northern France on Wednesday morning.
Having moved onto the beach in darkness, avoiding the French police, the group of migrants waited at the water's edge as a black dinghy came towards them.
It quickly became clear though that before the migrants could board the boat, it had begun to deflate.
People were seen dashing from the sand dunes into the water, as a second boat arrived.
About 30 people scrambled aboard the dinghy before it set off across the Channel towards Dover.
Meanwhile, a migrant who was deported to France under the "one-in, one-out" deal has re-entered the UK on a small boat.
The man's been detained and it's understood the Home Office intends to send him back to France again.
He told the Guardian he was a victim of modern slavery at the hands of smugglers in northern France.
"If I had felt that France was safe for me I would never have returned to the UK," the man told the newspaper.
The returns deal struck between Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron earlier this year is aimed at creating a disincentive for the dangerous Channel crossing.
The number of migrant arrivals in small boats in the UK has topped 36 thousand so far this year.