A GROUP of fisherman have stopped the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) from attending a call because they said they didn’t want more migrants being rescued, it has been revealed.
The incident has now been reported to the police, with the charity confirming the boat was eventually able to leave.
The charity confirmed the event occurred after a person who witnessed the incident phoned LBC’s James O’Brien show.
"We heard the fishermen shout 'Don't bring any more of those home, we're full up. That's why we've stopped our donations'."
— LBC (@LBC) November 25, 2021
This James O'Brien caller claims to have witnessed fishermen blocking a lifeboat from rescuing migrants.@mrjamesob pic.twitter.com/zENn6R2zw9
The caller said she saw fishermen blocking the lifeboat while shouting “don’t bring any more of those home, we’re full up”.
READ MORE: 31 people die as boat capsizes in the English Channel
Caller Zoe told the radio host: "On Saturday my boyfriend and I were just on the beach and we heard the lifeboat station opening up and thought 'oh they have a call' and started watching.
"There was a group of fisherman pulled up, gutting fish on the shore, and as the boat station opened up we heard the fisherman start shouting things like 'don't bring any more of those home, we're full up', 'that's why we stopped our donations', and that kind of really horrible stuff.
"It was really upsetting, and you could hear the hatred in their voice.
"The lifeboat crew pulled the boat out and were going to go into the water and some of the fishermen deliberately came out with their buckets and stood directly in the line of the boat so the boat couldn't be put in the water."
O’Brien asked: "Are you sure?”
"I'm absolutely sure, the police were called," she replied.
"It really shook me to the core and we thought of it yesterday night when we saw the news that people had passed away again."
It comes after a dingy capsized in the English channel, leading to the deaths of at least 27 people.
An RLNI spokesperson said: “We can confirm an incident was reported to the police.
"The lifeboat was able to launch and the station remains on service."
Sussex Police said: "Just after 4pm on Saturday, November 20, police were made aware of reports of a disturbance near to the Hastings RNLI Lifeboat Station.
"A police officer attended the scene while also being supported by colleagues monitoring the situation on CCTV.
READ MORE: BBC criticised over use of the word 'migrant' in Channel deaths coverage
"No arrests were made."
It comes just a week after a dinghy capsized off the coast of Calais, leading to the deaths of at least 27 people.
There was an outpouring of grief from campaigners and charities, who called for answers and urgent changes to current policies – while politicians said a solution needed to be found to tackle the crisis.
Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said people are being driven to seek refuge out of “desperation” and a “lack of humanitarian alternative routes”.
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