People smugglers recruit jobless Frenchmen to aid migrants board small boats

People-smuggling gangs are recruiting out-of-work Frenchmen to drive migrants to the beaches to board small boats bound for Britain.

Prosecutors and border guards in northern France have seen a rise in locals being used for high-risks tasks such as arranging perilous crossings.

They say by offering cash in hand they can easily recruit drivers from the thousands of unemployed men in Calais, Boulogne and Dunkirk.

It came as the massive surge in migrants risking their lives to cross the Channel since Labour came to power continues. Three people died after their boat sank on Wednesday.

The new tactic was revealed in a court case in which a jobless man was given a 12-month suspended sentence in Calais for transporting migrants to the coast.

This is an area where there is a shortage of people available for the smugglers to pursue their operations.

Some migrants are now being given free crossings in return for driving people to locations where the boats are launched.

With France's economy struggling - and budget cuts of 60billion euros on the way - unemployed men are turning to the smuggling criminals for cash.

The cut they get from each crossing is thought to be around £500 per time for a couple of hours work.

That is a lot more than they receive on French benefits - on average 55 euros a day.

Sources say the situation has "infuriated" law enforcement agencies, who fear this will lead to a winter spike in crossings. An insider said: "There's an unemployment issue in France and the smugglers are aware of this.

"The economy is in big trouble. Whenever that happens, it creates opportunities for crime and the black market to thrive.

"The jobless are turning to the cash cow which is sending migrants to Britain. They are making thousands. The situation is appalling."

The source said French police were aware of the situation but had so far been unable to make many breakthroughs.

They added: "The jobless men see it as much more lucrative work than just getting their weekly benefits.

"The smugglers are getting them to do the driving, picking up and dropping off.

"This is where the risk is. So it's good for them to get others to do their dirty work."

Wednesday's tragedy takes the total number of deaths in the Channel this year to 55. Forty-five people were rescued.

Latest official figures show 15,071 migrants have arrived in the UK on 266 small boats since Labour won July 4's general election, a rise of three on the figure for the same period last year.

But the total so far in 2024 stands at 28,654, a rise of eight per cent on last year.

The figure includes a record-breaking 973 migrants who crossed on October 5.