Clotaire Achi by Forrest Crellin

WIMEREUX in France (Reuters). They were wrapped in thick woollen hats and puffy jackets to keep warm and bundled up for the winter.

France claims it’s working to stop migrants trying to cross the Channel in dangerous conditions. It is located 30km (20 miles) from England and one of the busiest shipping routes to England.

There was nothing to stop the 40-strong group, six of them children, from setting off on Wednesday morning at sunrise, near Wimereux, in northern France.

The grey dinghy was carried by about fifteen men, who walked towards the ocean. The children were accompanied by their families, while the men behind carried an outboard engine.

One man carried a boy with him by his arm as he walked. The two men carried small children, and the women carried their belongings.

A French police vehicle suddenly rushed towards the group and flashed its lights, circled them in apparent effort to stop their passage to the ocean.

The vehicle was stopped by a woman with a child in her arms. The car stopped. It quickly raced off to another area of the beach.

The police had left, so the migrants rushed to shore to load the children on the dinghy, and then pushed it out of the water. As a woman swam out into freezing waters, she confirmed the destination of her family.

A few people were able to get onto the dinghy while their waists were high in the water, assisted by the others. Finally, the small boat had packed. As they left the beach, some migrants waved.