Migrants are attempting to sail to Britain from Belgian beaches for the first time, in an attempt to avoid French police patrols.

The move indicates a change in tactics by smuggling gangs, who have historically operated in northern France, with one local official calling the development “shocking”.

Now, the Home Office has confirmed that it is sending a Border Force officer to Zeebrugge to "support information sharing with Belgian law enforcement colleagues.”

On Tuesday, Belgian police were called after a boat carrying 14 people capsized in poor weather. The group of Afghan and Iraqi migrants, including two children, had to swim back to the beach at De Panne, a town on the border with France. Eight of them ran away and have not been found.

Bram Degrieck, the mayor of De Panne told the Telegraph that they were lucky to be alive.

“This is the first time we have been confronted in real life with this problem. Where people have tried to go on their own little boat from a beach here to the UK. It is a sign of absolute desperation,” he said.