THERESA May last night demanded Facebook take down a deluge of sick people smuggling adverts flogging dangerous Mediterranean crossings.

At a summit of EU leaders in Salzburg, the PM revealed 539 posts hosted by the tech giant and other social media firms have been identified by UK investigators in the last year alone.

All have been passed on to Europol.

Some are so twisted that they offer discounts for children on the life-endangering and illegal journeys.

Mrs May dubbed the ongoing migration crisis - now focussed on crossings to Italy and Spain - as “a generational challenge”.

And in a bid to soften opposition to a Brexit deal, she promised Europe that Britain will take the lead in the new assault on internet giants even after the UK leaves the EU.

And eavesdropping spy agency GCHQ will lead it with its world beating expertise.

The PM told the leaders during a heated dinner discussion on immigration: “It’s too easy for traffickers and smugglers to advertise their services online”.

She also called for concerted EU-wide action to back up her efforts.

The same zero tolerance to terror manuals and radicalisation online must also now be turned on people smuggling, the PM told leaders.

Social media ads posted by criminal gangs – on view wildly across Africa and the Middle East – have been pinpointed as a major driver of perilous crossings in exchange for cash.

The "travel agent" style services to Europe are often deeply misleading, offering risk free trips on yachts instead of crammed small boats without life jackets.