French maritime authorities said they had rescued 84 people aboard four vessels attempting to reach the UK off France's northern coast on Saturday.

A French navy patrol ship first picked up 11 migrants off the coast at popular resort town le Touquet overnight, dropping them off in Boulogne-sur-Mer, before a tugboat rescued 24 more stranded people including five children.

A surveillance speedboat from the maritime gendarmes then picked up 30 more people, including a woman and a baby, while the French national sea rescue organisation SNSM brought in another 19 migrants including two women and two children.

Since late 2018, the number of illegal Channel crossings has risen sharply as migrants try to reach Britain despite dangers linked to heavy shipping traffic, strong currents and low water temperatures.

In 2020 alone, there were some 9,500 crossings or attempted crossings, according to the coastguard, more than four times the previous year's number.

Six people died and three went missing trying to cross last year, compared to four dead in 2019.

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