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French officials have consented to start stopping small boats in the Channel, following an extended period of insistence from the UK.

The change in policy comes after the British leader sent a letter to the French leader urging him to support the initiative and stating there currently "have no effective preventive measure" in the Channel.

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

French authorities have rarely acted to stop the heavily loaded boats leaving the shoreline because it is considered excessively high a risk to both officers and civilians.

"It is crucial that we deploy these tactics this month... We have zero effective deterrent in the Channel."

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

Notably, the spokesperson ruled out the use of entanglement devices to stop boats, which had earlier been suggested as a potential technique to snarl the propellers of the boats.

The decision to intervene at all is a major advancement, following a short-lived shift towards a more aggressive approach this summer, which dropped off when the previous government official departed from government.

That was highlighted in July, in the run-up to a summit between the Prime Minister and President, when French police were observed walking into the sea to damage the sides of a vessel.

Now French authorities will again be allowed to stop boats prior to they collect asylum-seeking passengers from the coastal areas of France's north coast, although it's not clear how the vessels will be prevented.

Strong winds are currently postponing the start of interceptions and the people-smuggling gangs will be looking for methods to adjust to avoid interception, as they have frequently done in the previous instances.

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

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