Tear gas deployed against migrants in Calais
Migrants of all ages who made it to the sea had to wait in waist-deep water for almost an hour before any of them were able to board the small boat.
An older man on crutches had to be carried out of the water by two others, who then ran off to re-join the crowd.
People thought to be migrants wade through the sea to board a small boat leaving the beach at Gravelines, France, in an attempt to reach the UK by crossing the English Channel (Gareth Fuller/PA)
Many others did not make it to the water, raising their arms in surrender under a thick blanket of tear gas fired by the French Police Nationale.
Police Nationale officers were trudging the sands at Gravelines beach before the sun had risen on Tuesday morning, armed with riot shields, tear gas and batons.
Pictures taken by the PA news agency show a cloud of smoke as migrants ran from the dunes.
People thought to be migrants emerge from bushes on a beach in Gravelines, France, after French authorities had fired tear gas (Gareth Fuller/PA)
A warning cry of 'baby, baby' was heard as a man carrying a tiny child sprinted out of the smog.
Those who made it to the water bunched into three groups and waited for the dinghy to collect them, watched by the French police from the shoreline.
While they waited, an Afghani migrant who wished to remain anonymous told PA that he was seeking a better life in the UK.
'Just I want to go for a good life, I have a situation bad in my country,' he said.
Well over 50 migrants made it aboard the small black dinghy before it finally took off into the channel.
Others were left to watch as it floated out to sea.
Pictures from the morning show a woman sitting dejected on the sand after chasing the dinghy as it left the beach.
People thought to be migrants embrace on the beach at Gravelines, France, as they wait to board a small boat in an attempt to reach the UK by crossing the English Channel (Gareth Fuller/PA)
She and her friends, thought to be Ethiopian, complained that it was mostly men who had managed to get on the boat that morning.
They had been hit by tear gas when the migrants were making their initial sprint to the water.
The police present on Gravelines beach would not confirm whether the use of tear gas had now become common practice during these clashes.
A beach comber who has begun to document crossings was watching events unfold on Tuesday.
The 28-year-old said of French police: 'I think they show them that they tried to stop them but they're happy if a few hundred or thousand are away because the camps are more empty.'
The dinghy which had originally come to shore around 7am local time (6am BST) headed out to sea at 9.30am.
A group of people thought to be migrants on a dinghy near the beach at Gravelines, France (Gareth Fuller/PA)
The boat was thought to be overloaded and witnesses saw it was eventually brought back to shore at around 11am local time (10am BST).
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'The Government's guidance is clear that it's rarely in a child's best interests to miss a year of their education, and so it should be rare for a deferral request to be refused. 'We recognise parents' experiences can still vary and continue to support individual admissions authorities with their decision making.'
