Police trying to stop migrants leaving French beaches for Britain's shores used tougher tactics yesterday, including firing tear gas and slashing a crowded dinghy in the sea. But the new aggression seen by a Daily Mail reporter failed to deter yet more boatloads of migrants crossing the Channel. One dinghy capsized in the middle of the busy shipping route yesterday morning with about 80 people aboard, including at least three children. A six-month-old baby was reported to have been among those who went into the water, but no serious injuries were reported. In the Mail yesterday, we reported how French police officers looked on as a migrant 'taxi boat' collected passengers from Gravelines beach and headed for Dover. A police commander said they had been forbidden from intervening on safety grounds if migrants were even in ankle-deep waters. But on the same beach yesterday morning, a different police team fired tear-gas canisters at a migrant boat, which had arrived to collect additional passengers.