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France has agreed to start stopping migrant vessels in the English Channel, following an extended period of pressure from the UK.

The change in policy follows the British leader wrote to the French leader urging him to back the initiative and saying there presently "lack any effective deterrent" in the Channel.

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

French authorities have infrequently acted to stop the heavily loaded boats departing from the shoreline because it is viewed as too great a risk to both personnel and civilians.

"It is crucial that we deploy these tactics this period... We have no effective deterrent 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 earlier been suggested as a possible method to disable the engines of the vessels.

This determination to take action at all is a significant advancement, coming after a short-lived change towards a more aggressive strategy this warmer season, which dropped off when the previous government official departed from office.

This was demonstrated in the summer month, in the run-up to a meeting between the UK leader and President, when French police were observed wading into the sea to damage the hulls of a boat.

Now French officials will again be permitted 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.

Powerful gusts are currently delaying the start of intervention operations and the people-smuggling networks will be looking for methods to adapt to evade detection, as they have done so often in the previous instances.

UK immigration authorities and Downing Street have been contacted for comment.

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