Migrant dinghy shadowed through Channel by the French for nearly 24 hours approaching UK_D

A migrant dinghy is heading towards the UK after spending more than 24 hours at sea.

The boat, which is being shadowed by a French coastguard vessel, left the Normandy coast on Monday morning.

The dinghy is now approaching the Channel boundary line according to ship tracking data, and appears to have set off close to the village of Vierville-sur-Mer, west of Bayeux.

And two RNLI lifeboats are racing out into the middle of the Channel, it is understood.

Four French lifeboats and the tugboat Abeille Liberté (Liberty Bee), along with a French Navy search-and-rescue helicopter, were scrambled when the 12m (40ft) craft left Port-en-Bessin, north of Bayeux, just before 10am on Monday.

Activist Daniel Thomas, who organised the anti-migrant protests in Portsmouth and Dover, has raced into the Channel on a speedboat. He has told a YouTube live broadcast that “Patriot Platform” members are on “standby” across the south coast for when the two lifeboats try to dock.

Mr Thomas has vowed to follow the lifeboats back to shore.

A source said: “The boat was in a very bad way, and very low in the water, with just a single small outboard motor to power it.

“The sea was calm, and weather conditions were good, but the decision was taken to escort the boat, without intervening.”

The source said the focus was on ensuring maritime safety, and not on preventing the boat reaching the UK.

Because of currents and winds, the boat first began heading along the French coast, rather than out to sea, he added.

“Gendarmes were also involved in monitoring the boat from the shoreline, and – at around 3pm – there was a movement towards English waters,” said the source.

By first light on Tuesday morning, there were no more reports about the location of the boat, but it was believed to still be at sea.

Labour were accused of being “weak” on immigration as 120 people were brought into Portsmouth following a record crossing attempt from near Cherbourg.

It prompted warnings of an “invasion” of other coastal towns, such as Brighton, Southampton or Weymouth as smugglers change their tactics to exploit weak points in the border.

And hundreds of protesters descended on Portsmouth, vowing not to let three coaches of migrants through.

Some even chased the buses down the motorway as they carried the migrants from Portsmouth to Dover.

Rescue teams admitted they were blindsided as the smugglers used an “isolated, rocky spot” in the region, which is almost 285 miles away by road from Calais.

And the boat was in “serious difficulty” within “an hour”, officials said.

This led to five French rescue vessels and two helicopters helping the 120 asylum seekers on the nearly 70-mile journey.

A rescue source said: “Jobourg is not patrolled by police, because nobody would expect a boat to leave from such an isolated, rocky spot.

“Within an hour or so the boat was in serious difficulty, and passengers on board made Mayday calls on their mobile phones.”

The engine had failed, investigators believe, meaning the dinghy was drifting dangerously about 14 miles off the coast.

A French Navy H-160 helicopter and a Dragon 50 civil security chopper joined the huge operation, which also included the five French ships.

The Abeille Liberté got closest to the stricken boat, and found “all on board packed closely together, and clearly in some distress”.

The source added: “We asked them who wanted to be rescued, and the answer was no one.

“There were 20 women and eight children among them, and they clearly caused the most concern.

“Only a few migrants were wearing life jackets, so we handed out jackets to all of them. It seemed incomprehensible that they were risking their lives without life jackets.

“A second outboard motor was made to work, so the boat could continue on its voyage to Britain.”