Fear & fury along the WHOLE of England’s south coast now on the frontline of migrant megadinghy landings…& protest chaos

SUNSHINE, deckchairs, and a quiet retirement might be most people’s image of the south coast.

But with small boat dinghies coming further west than ever before, and with a self-professed “army” of balaclava-clad anti-migrant demonstrators promising a “shockwave” across the country, locals fear their peaceful patch of England is about to turn into a battlefield.

Last Sunday, a dinghy carrying 140 migrants made what is believed to be the longest crossing of the English channel yet, departing from Normandy, 170 miles from where they usually launch around Calais.

After landing at Eastney, Portsmouth, hundreds of masked protesters led by Tommy Robinson associate Daniel Thomas – known as Danny Tommo – descended on the city and engaged in a tense standoff with police in an attempt to prevent the migrants from leaving.

And just a day before this, the same group – calling themselves Patriot Platform – brought the Port of Dover to a standstill, catching police off-guard.

It has led the Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood to call for a crackdown on face coverings at protests, summoning police chiefs on Thursday ahead of fears of further disturbances this weekend.

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“The size of the boats now, they are expanding and bringing so many more at once. We are paying the French and they are not stopping them at all.

“I don’t think all the protesters gathering is good either. It’s fine if they do it in a nice calm way and not injuring police or anyone else.”

Claire Byrne, a 43-year-old mum, said: “I’m not going to be protesting or anything but I don’t really want it coming here. I do think it’s getting worse.

“Poole is a major port so it is a worry, I always thought it was too far away for them to come in here but I think they are becoming more brave and willing to try anything.”

Summer Marie, 29, said: “My main concern is always for the children, I’m a social worker and have worked with migrant children. They are innocent and just following their parents.

“I do worry about big groups of protestors. In every situation you have a minority that ruin it for the majority.

Philip Andrews, 60, retail worker, said: “I am concerned they could come into the county by Poole. The issues are when the migrants land they get benefits and they are not putting anything in the system.”

The majority of small boat crossings currently happen at the shortest part of the channel, between Calais and Dover, which measures just over 20 miles across.

But law enforcement officials fear that smugglers are launching from less-patrolled beaches further west, keen to avoid a battle with the authorities around Calais and Dunkirk.

Officials are worried that people smugglers are trying out new routes and landing spots across the south coast – something locals along the south coast fear would further heighten tensions, given the scale of the recent anti-small boats protests.

Last weekend’s protests were notable for their level of organisation and scale, being a far cry from the spontaneous anti asylum-seeker protests seen in the country before.

Speaking to The Sun previously, former Metropolitan Police Sergeant Graham Wettone said: “The protesters were clearly well-organised, well-coordinated, well-informed, well-versed and well-instructed.

“These protests almost looked like a rehearsal, a dry run, for more activity so they could see the police’s response.”

Both were organised by the right-wing Patriot Platform, a group founded in June by Daniel Thomas,

In a message, Thomas warned that Dover and Portsmouth were only the beginning and that there will be future protests of an even larger scale.

Anti-immigration protesters have also directed criticism towards the RNLI itself.

On Wednesday, members of the group Poole Patriots staged a controversial protest outside the RNLI headquarters, which are located in the town.

It followed another protest at the town quay on Sunday night, where they had gathered, they claimed, in case the so-called “mega dinghy” which triggered the disruption in Portsmouth was brought there instead.

Campaigners staged Wednesday’s demonstration to call for it to stop acting as a ‘taxi service’ for migrants.

Members of the anti-migrant campaign group Poole Patriots staged today’s protest directly outside the HQ 50 miles away from Portsmouth.

They accused the RNLI of perpetrating criminal activity by helping to bring in unvetted young men.

One protester said: “We are here as a peaceful vigil because of the rape victims, the sexual assault and stab victims, because the RNLI are facilitating bringing these undocumented, unvetted men of fighting age onto our shores.”

In a statement, CEO of the RNLI Peter Sparkes said: “Recent events have generated deliberate misinformation and a misunderstanding about the RNLI.

“Our mission, and our tasking is to rescue those women, children and men in danger of drowning. Anyone rescued from a small boat by the RNLI is immediately handed over to the UK’s immigration authorities. Illegal immigration is a political issue; the RNLI exists to save lives at sea.”

Tensions were high in Sussex too, where they feared their part of the coast could become a prime target for people traffickers.

Selsey, near the home of Kate Winslet, is one of the places traffickers could target next.

From the beach it is possible to see Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight where drama unfolded last Sunday.

Many in the town fear how it could change and how their lives would be affected.

Holidaymaker Trevor Wallace, 67, a retired Royal Engineer from Croydon, said he has been coming to Selsey for decades.

“It would be disastrous. I think the government has had enough time to sort this out and they haven’t.

“It would really change this place if migrants started landing here.”

Mike Turner, 79, a retired civil engineer, has lived near the beach for the last six years, and said he would not be surprised to see migrants coming ashore at Selsey.

“I’ve been waiting for them,” he said. “It’s clear to me this would be the next best place for them to land.”

Kelly Dines, 51, who runs a sweetshop in Selsey worries about what will happen to the village if the boats start to arrive.

“You think Portsmouth was bad? Here, you can come straight in. There would be uproar.”

Tattooist Jake Symmonds, 53, runs a successful business in Selsey, and said there would be an instant reaction from locals if boats started arriving on the beaches.

“We are very left wing, but this feels like an invasion,” Jake said.

“These people in Westminster don’t know what they are talking about. There would be people on the beach kicking off straight away at the first sign of a boat.

“There is an underlying tension in the air,” he added.

With protestors becoming more organised and the potential of further demonstrations this weekend, policing officials along the south coast are set to meet to discuss how they can keep the south coast secure, Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner Katy Bourne told The Sun.

“Sussex Police is very experienced in facilitating and policing protests,” she said, adding she is confident that they can strike the right balance of free speech and keeping people safe.

“However, the recent landings and associated counter protests should be a wake-up call to Government to provide reassurances to us all that they have the capacity and capability to police our coastal borders effectively.

“I will be meeting with PCC colleagues from the coastal southern regions next week to discuss matters further.”

Dorset Police told The Sun: “We will continue to monitor intelligence around protest activity and will respond accordingly.