Around 15 outraged fishermen barricaded the entrance to the Quay after the fishing vessel, le Precurseur, landed to unload its catch onto a waiting lorry to be transported to Boulogne.

Fishermen were furious as they have been prevented from catching any white fish after meeting their EU quota restrictions, while the French vessel was allowed to catch fish on their doorstep and transport it out of town.

They said the French vessel, which was much larger than any boat moored in Hartlepool, was loaded with an amount of fish that would have kept the town fleet for a month.

The move came after town fishermen campaigned for improvements to the quota system and a new scheme is set to be launched to lift restrictions and monitor the effect on stocks.

The trawler arrived in Hartlepool at 5am yesterday and fishermen started the blockade at 9.20am. The vessel was sent back to sea without unloading its catch at around noon, when they refused to budge.

Fisherman Ronnie Buglass, 47, of Naisberry Park, Hartlepool, said: "We are not being militant but we have to take a stand, these men are fishing on our doorstep and we are not allowed to.

"There is plenty of white fish off our harbour although we are not able to harvest it but they can come and land it.

"What that boat has got on there would keep us for a month."

The move came after town fishermen highlighted the need for a change in the fish quota system, which has been forcing them to throw any white fish they catch overboard once they have reached their limit.

Mr Buglass said town fishermen have been forced away from their own coastline to catch prawns off Scotland because they do not have any quota left for white fish like whiting, cod and plaice.

The French vessel landed in Hartlepool to load its catch onto a lorry to transport it to France by road, as it is quicker and more economical than the four days it takes to sail back.

Keith Williams, manager of the Hartlepool Fish Company, which operates the fish quay, said: "I asked it to leave and I explained the situation that I couldn't let it land here.

"I asked the boat to leave and it went on its way back to Boulogne. There was no fish overlanded."

But after sending the vessel away, Mr Williams said the company still needs business from foreign fishing firms, which boost the fish quay as it cannot survive off Hartlepool's fleet alone as it is often moored due to the quota system.

Meanwhile, Government chiefs say French fishermen are well within their rights to sail off the UK coast for fish to take back to the continent.

Under European Union regulations, all of the waters around member states are shared and open for fishing by any member country.

A spokeswoman for the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, said: "Legally there is nothing wrong with French fishermen fishing in waters around the UK and under the Common Fisheries Policy they are shared waters. Fishermen in England don't have enough quota left, but the French have, which is why they are not happy.

"The quota situation is unfortunate, there is only so much to go around and unfortunately English fishermen have fished their quota."

Just last month, the Mail reported how a new scheme is being introduced in the summer to remove the quota for small boats in Hartlepool, Lowestoft and the Thames Estuary for 12 months while stocks are monitored.