Border Force drew up plans to give officers batons and armour in case migrants jumped onto their boat whilst being turned around, it can be revealed. New documents submitted to the Cranston Inquiry gave a detailed account of how the UK planned to intercept dinghies and turn them back into French waters.

The plans were eventually dropped over safety concerns. But their publication comes at a time when French police are finalising their tactics to begin intercepting boats in shallow waters.

Sources have indicated they believe this likely to begin at the end of next month, when specially-trained riot police start patrolling the beaches.

The British plans – marked Official Sensitive - revealed how a Border Force vessel could draw up alongside the migrant vessel before knocking the front portion of it using tactical contact to slowly turn it around whilst the engine was running.

This would be repeated until the migrant dinghy was heading back into French territorial waters.

And Border Force drew up plans for two vessels to box a migrant boat in on both sides and guide it back towards French territorial waters.

This would have been implemented if the asylum seekers refused to comply with requests to turn around.

The tactical plan added: “The coxswains must ensure that the MV is not forcefully compressed between their own vessels, causing them to ride over the subject vessel or injure people sitting on the sponsons.

“The coxswains should be alert to the possibility of migrants attempting to cross-deck and becoming trapped between the MV and BF vessels, being prepared to immediately disengage and withdraw.”

Border Force said efforts to turn migrant boats around should be abandoned if the dinghy is damaged “or shows indications of imminent failure”.

This would have been of particular concern in the current climate as the boats are so poorly designed.

The operation would also have been abandoned if asylum seekers fell into the water.

And officers were told to pull back if the migrant dinghies took on any water or the engine stopped.

Border Force plans also revealed efforts to turn the boats around would be stopped if migrants attempted to jump on to the British vessel, if the pilot began steering the dinghy “erratically”, or if they threatened violence.

The document stated: “Migrants may seek to cross-deck onto the TWC (tactical water craft) to achieve rescue, prevent the ride-off or to harm the coxswain.

“The two TWCs responsible for performing the tactics detailed above will have a second Officer stationed on the TWC to help keep the coxswain safe during the turnaround evolution.

“This second officer will be equipped with standard BFMC PPE of body armour, baton and handcuffs and can provide additional oversight of any ride-off manoeuvre to ensure the safety of the target vessel.”

The Daily Express on Friday witnessed two French vessels – one Navy warship and a RIB – shadowing a migrant dinghy in the middle of the Channel.

Dozens of people packed onto a dinghy and crossed, adding to the 7,200 people already detected leaving France.

But French has been accused of giving migrants lifejackets because the small boats crisis is getting worse.

Matt Coker, a deep-sea angler, said London and Paris have “admitted they can’t stop it” and are trying to make crossings safer.

Mr Coker - who has witnessed scores of crossings - said the French navy are “escorting” small boats “through the shipping lane to give them a safe passage”.

Revealing how he heard British and French officials discussing handing out lifejackets over the radio, Mr Coker said: “The French, they're giving them lifejackets now because so many of them are not getting in the boats with lifejackets. I suppose...they're trying to avoid another tragedy.

“And they'll give them lifejackets if they haven't got life jackets. And then they ask for the lifejackets back off the British once they've picked them up and the transfer has been made.”

He added to Times Radio: "The French are actually escorting them through the shipping lane to give them a safe passage. And they're only making half the journey now.

“So ... I suppose it is safer, but it almost seems to me like it might be encouraging the problem as well.

"It's safer for you to cross the Channel now than it's ever been because you'll have an escort from when you leave the beach and you'll be given safe passage and you'll only have to make half the journey because the UK Border Force will be waiting on the border to pick you up, rather than waiting well within UK waters.

“The people smugglers can quite honestly say to the people they are smuggling, it is safer for you to cross the Channel now than it ever has been because you will have an escort from when you leave the beach and you’ll only have to make half the journey because the UK Border Force will be waiting on the border to pick you up.

"In the last six months, it seems to have gone back to what it was two or three years ago, which is, I mean, there seems to be lots of boats all at the same time coming on every possible day, whereas before that, it did seem to... It slowed up to just a few boats a day and it was only when the weather was perfect, you know.

“Whereas now they seem to be leaving the beaches, I suppose, you know, more often.

“It’s almost as if they have admitted they can’t stop it. So they are going to make it as safe and controlled as possible, which I do think is encouraging the problem.”