The more robust approach to migrants from French police has led people smugglers to switch up their tactics, according to reports. In an apparently new approach, smugglers on Tuesday reportedly drove a Volvo estate onto a beach in northern France with a dinghy on its roof. It was then taken off and launched into the sea. The smugglers abandoned the car on the beach.

In response to that change in tactics, an officer told French media: “They are always adapting.” The changed approach comes as police on the other side of the Channel pursue a more aggressive approach to deterring crossings, with officers wading into the sea and spraying tear gas at migrants as they try to board boats.

The use of a car driven onto a beach is said to be the latest tactical change from the smugglers, who had been pursuing a “taxi boat” method to avoid the police officers patrolling beaches.

This tactic saw smugglers navigating dinghies along inland waterways before arriving at the coast to pick up migrants.

That method, in turn, was triggered by the use of radar equipment sent by the UK to uncover boats hidden in sand dunes.

Smugglers would inflate those dinghies on beaches while migrants waited for the vessels to be ready to board.

However, according to The Times, a 2023 deal between the UK and France, when Rishi Sunak was prime minister, saw increased detection rates and police stopping two-thirds of boats in France.

The smugglers then pivoted to the “taxi boat” approach, but now appear to have switched up their tactics again.

Some 16,545 people have reached the UK in small boats so far this year, according to Home Office figures.

This is a 45% increase on the same period last year and higher than at the same point in 2022, the overall record year for crossings.

Migrants looking to cross the Channel also face increasingly chaotic conditions at makeshift camps in France, with officials saying a shortage of dinghies is fuelling unrest.

Hundreds of people gathered on the dunes on Tuesday morning before making dashes towards the English Channel at Gravelines beach near Calais, all intent on boarding a single dinghy.

The French authorities stood by and watched as those not deterred by tear gas waded into the water to risk the Channel crossing.

The scenes at Gravelines unfolded only a few hours after a meeting between Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron at the G7 in Canada to address a situation No 10 admitted was “deteriorating”.

Sir Keir signalled that countries that didn’t do enough to tackle the irregular migration crisis, for example, by taking back failed asylum seekers, could see a reduction in the number of visas issued to their citizens.

No 10 said the UK and France will hold a summit in July focused on tackling the migrant crisis.

Downing Street acknowledged there were “no quick fixes” but insisted action was being taken and that Britain’s days of being a “soft touch” for smuggling gangs were over.