More than one in four Germans think border guards should be able to use firearms to stop migrants entering the country illegally, a poll has found.

The survey by polling company YouGov, reported in Die Welt, found rising concern at the level of migration into the country and the government’s handling of the crisis.

Nearly three in 10 (29 per cent) of the German population said it could be justified for border guards to stop migrants crossing the into the country at gunpoint, if necessary.

The poll follows comments from Frauke Petry, leader of Alternativ für Deutschland (AfD), who said last week that a border police officer “must stop illegal border crossings, and also make use of his firearm if necessary.” She continued that “no policeman wants to fire on a refugee and I don’t want that either. But the last resort includes the use of armed force.”

Her comments generated a storm of outrage among the country’s political and media class, with Vice-Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel calling for the ant-mass immigration party to be put under observation by the national agency that tracks suspected terrorists.

However, it now appears more than a quarter of Germans share Ms Petry’s view, providing further evidence of a growing divide between the German population and the country’s establishment.

The polling firm also found that 29 per cent of Germans would consider taking part in vigilante action, as trust the police collapses. The figure is even higher for men, with a third saying they would take the law into their own hands if the state failed to provide sufficient protection.

The reputation of the police is Germany took a serious knock after the mass sex attacks in Cologne. Despite the scale of the incident on New Year’s Eve, news of the event did not get out until days later, leading Germans to question how police and the media could keep such large-scale crimes quiet.

Breitbart London reported this week on the testimony of one victim who was attacked as she walked home on New Year’s Eve.

She said police failed to get back to her after she reported the attack and accused them of not doing enough to investigate the crime.