Second deportation flight under ‘one in, one out’ deal takes off

A second migrant’s deportation flight has left the UK for France under the “one in, one out” deal after losing a High Court bid to have his removal temporarily blocked, the Home Office said.

An Eritrean man was on a flight that left Heathrow for Paris at 6.15am on Friday, the Home Office confirmed.

It comes as hundreds of migrants have tried to cross the Channel as the deportation took place.

At least one inflatable dinghy full of young men made its way out to sea from Gravelines beach, north-east Calais, at daybreak on Friday.

As the boat came close to shore, people waded through waist-high water towards it and a child was passed aboard before it went out to sea.

In the town itself, at about 5.30am, a group of 40 young men suddenly appeared from a quiet side street carrying an inflatable boat over their heads before launching it into a canal.

Police officers watched on from the bank as the driver of the boat struggled to keep it in a straight line.

Earlier in the night, a group of men formed a human chain to help haul people out of the mud after a failed attempt to launch a boat in the canal.