Portsmouth migrant boat witness urges compassion

A man who witnessed the RNLI help a group of migrants crossing the English Channel in a dinghy has said people need to have more compassion.

Demonstrators blocked roads in an attempt to stop coaches carrying the 120 migrants from leaving Portsmouth on Sunday night, following a separate protest at the Port of Dover the day before.

In a video posted on social media, eyewitness Troy said: "I saw very closely with my own eyes some very scared women and children that were getting off that boat."

Protester Les Pearce told BBC Radio Solent earlier this week people were "absolutely fed up" with small boat arrivals.

Troy told the BBC he had been with his two dogs in his van on Eastney beach when he noticed a number of boats carrying the migrants at about 16:45 BST.

Shortly afterwards he said emergency services arrived and his van was blocked in by the vehicles by 18:00 when the coaches came to pick up the migrants.

He was unable to leave until the early hours of the next morning.

Daniel Thomas, known as Danny Tommo – an associate of far-right activist Tommy Robinson – arrived and began live streaming from the scene.

Troy said he watched Tommo and his friends enter the water whilst holding up their phones at Border Force, the RNLI and police officers.

In the background a number of migrants wrapped in foil blankets can be seen stood waiting to get off the RNLI lifeboat.

Troy said: "They were now facing an even longer journey because their journey was held up by probably eight, nine hours by people causing pointless protests.

"I get that you want to get your message across but it just doesn't need to be like that."

Protester Pearce, 65, told the BBC he was "one of the first" people who gathered to demonstrate.

He says he did not realise the protest was going to be as big as it was - "but I'm glad it was, we all stood together".

"People [are] absolutely fed up with these boats coming over. It's never been done before in Portsmouth and we don't want it," he said.

He added he was "very surprised" a small boat had landed in Portsmouth, "that's why I went down there.. we can't put up with this".

In the video posted by Troy, protestors in balaclavas were seen splashing RNLI volunteers and shouting at them whilst they were trying to enter the water.

"It was a really dangerous situation for them to be out in the water and as any normal human being I don't want them to drown," he said.

Gradually protesters moved up the beach towards coaches waiting to take the migrants away.

Troy said: "I was stuck in my van, in my campervan with my dogs, unable to move the van, unable to move the dogs because I couldn't carry both of them and all of my stuff. And so I just had to lock the doors and stay in my van."

Police have been urged by the government to urgently consider whether more could have been done in response to the protests in Dover and Portsmouth.

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary said it was investigating allegations of assaults on officers and criminal damage.