Eight migrants rescued from English Channel by French authorities

French authorities have rescued a boat containing eight migrants in the English Channel.

The French coastguard said it was alerted to a group of migrants near the seaside resort of Stella Plage, near Le Touquet in northern France, in the early hours of Saturday morning.

At around 1.55am, the eight migrants were found in a boat with a damaged engine, according to Premar Manche, which monitors the Channel.

The group was taken to Boulogne-sur-Mer at 5.10am with mild hypothermia, before being handed over to border police, according to the coastguard.

Dozens of migrants have sought to cross the busy shipping lanes of the Channel this week, despite repeated warnings about the dangers.

Border Force intercepted a group of 12 migrants, who presented themselves as Iranian nationals, while they were travelling across the Channel on Friday morning.

They were taken to Dover to be medically assessed and then interviewed by immigration officials.

Earlier on Friday, French authorities confirmed that a further 11 migrants were intercepted off the coast of Calais.

On Thursday, seven men who presented themselves as Syrian nationals were intercepted by Border Force and taken to the UK.