At least six migrant boats were picked up off the Kent coast yesterday, marking the first Channel crossing since last Thursday.
As many as 15 people are thought to have landed on Shakespeare beach, Dover, in the early hours of this morning after a dinghy was recovered there.
And five more boats were spotted being tugged into Dover harbour this morning.
Journeys across the 21-mile body of water were halted for the last seven days after Storm Francis made the waterway too treacherous.
The latest journey means an estimated 5,000 people have arrived in the UK this year, eclipsing 2019’s figure of 1,850.
The number of people trying to reach British shores has surged in recent months, amid fears that France may clear the ‘Calais jungle’ and that it will get harder to claim asylum in the UK after Brexit.
This boat was found on Shakespeare Beach, Dover, around 6.30am today. Around five more were towed into the harbour in Kent this morning
![The boat was loaded up with spades and a sleeping bag. The boat crossed the 21-mile channel](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/08/27/11/32450450-8669797-image-a-2_1598522751606.jpg)
The boat was loaded up with spades and a sleeping bag. The boat crossed the 21-mile channel
![Migrants pictured being brought into Dover, Kent, while on board a Border Force vessel](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/08/27/13/32454580-8669797-image-a-15_1598530023162.jpg)
Migrants pictured being brought into Dover, Kent, while on board a Border Force vessel
![At least four migrants pictured being motored into Dover, Kent, after crossing the Channel](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/08/27/13/32454584-8669797-image-a-16_1598530030830.jpg)
At least four migrants pictured being motored into Dover, Kent, after crossing the Channel
![They are pictured on board with two Border Force officers after crossing the Channel last night](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/08/27/13/32454588-8669797-image-a-17_1598530039029.jpg)
They are pictured on board with two Border Force officers after crossing the Channel last night
Before the latest journeys over the shipping lane, the total number of migrants to have reached Britain by small boat stood at an estimated 4,950.
This comes after a dangerous crossing was made on Friday, when five migrants risked their lives in gale-force winds as they tried to reach the UK.
They presented themselves as Sudanese and Chad nationals upon arrival, and were taken to Dover where they were handed to immigration officials.
A number of migrants who made the crossing to the UK have gone on hunger strike in detention centres as they face deportation.
Charities and campaigners that support migrants said the strikes are taking place at the Brook House immigration removal centre near Gatwick airport.
As many as 13 migrants are thought to have been refusing food last week, with around five understood to still be on hunger strike.
There have also been reports of attempted suicide.
Campaign groups said a deportation flight had been scheduled for today, and yesterday, to France, Spain and Germany.
![Huge winds were seen in the English channel throughout the day as five more migrants risked their lives in gale-force winds last week. Pictured: A DFDS ferry is hit by waves as it arrives at the Port of Dover in Kent](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/08/21/17/32226462-8651363-image-m-2_1598027783330.jpg)
Huge winds were seen in the English channel throughout the day as five more migrants risked their lives in gale-force winds last week. Pictured: A DFDS ferry is hit by waves as it arrives at the Port of Dover in Kent
![A haul of boats believed to have been used by migrants are seen in a Port Authority yard this month](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/08/27/12/32194276-8669797-A_haul_of_boats_believed_to_have_been_used_by_migrants_are_seen_-a-13_1598528620734.jpg)
A haul of boats believed to have been used by migrants are seen in a Port Authority yard this month
![Numbers of people trying to reach British shores (one group pictured last week) have surged in the summer months, prompting the Government to deploy RAF planes to the English Channel in an effort to tackle the problem](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/08/21/15/32222578-8651363-image-a-29_1598020885673.jpg)
Numbers of people trying to reach British shores (one group pictured last week) have surged in the summer months, prompting the Government to deploy RAF planes to the English Channel in an effort to tackle the problem
Last Wednesday, the body of Sudanese 28-year-old Abdulfatah Hamdallah was found washed up on a beach at Sangatte after he drowned trying to reach Britain.
Abdulfatah could not swim and died after his stolen 3ft dinghy capsized.
They had been using shovels to paddle and it is believed the makeshift oars punctured the boat, which the pair had stolen from a chalet.
Hundreds of boats recovered from British shore are currently been stored at a warehouse in Whitfield, Kent, MailOnline revealed last month.
The boats are stacked three high and in multiple rows and vary from fibreglass rowing boats to high tech large boats used by unscrupulous gangs.
It is unclear what will happen to the vessels, and whether they will be sold, repaired or taken straight to landfill to be discarded.
Six times as many illegal migrants have been arriving in the Canary Islands compared to last year, as increased security in the Mediterranean is pushing them to try the dangerous Atlantic crossing.
As many as 3,448 people had been picked up on the Spanish islands, as of August 16, whereas last year just 556 had arrived by mid-August.
However, arrivals on Spain’s Mediterranean shores have dropped by 50 per cent during the same period.