26 migrants leave in deal as 9,885 arrive

MORE migrants attempted to cross the Channel yesterday as the Government announced 26 people had been deported under its returns deal with France - while nearly 10,000 arrived since the launch of the scheme.

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Around 100 men and women seeking to make the journey gathered on Gravelines beach in the north of the country on Friday morning, where some collided with French police as they sought to reach a small boat.

Officers used pepper spray to stop people from reaching the vessel, with at least 70 making it on board before taking off towards Dover.

It comes as the Home Office said 19 migrants had been removed to France in the first group of deportations under the "one in, one out" deal with Paris this week, taking the total number of people removed to 26.