Around 200 migrants including families with young children have descended on British shores today, including at least 73 landing on Kent beaches – taking the total number of Channel migrants this year to over 6,000.
UK authorities are said to have been ‘overwhelmed’ by the ‘absolute mayhem’ in the English Channel as hundreds of migrants took advantage of calm Channels and sailed from France to the south coast.
Lifeboats from Dover, Dungeness and Walmer were launched to support Border Force officers who brought at least 40 suspected migrants crossing the Narrow Sea into the busy Kent port.
Dozens of exhausted migrants waited on the side South Road near Kingsdown Beach in Kent to be picked up, while photos show others in lifejackets and being escorted up the gangway to the harbourside.
A large group, including an Iraqi family of five with children aged around six and seven, dodged Border Force vessels to reach Kingsdown, Kent, on a huge green inflatable boat.
Another group of three Asian migrants, wrapped in blankets and wearing lifejackets, also made it to Folkestone this morning as crossings resumed in large numbers amid low winds.
Dozens more suspected migrants were picked up by Border Force patrol boats and taken into the Port of Dover.
Dozens of exhausted migrants including families with young children waited on the side of the road to be picked up near Kingsdown Beach in Kent after crossing the English Channel today
Dozens of exhausted migrants including families with young children waited on the side of the road to be picked up near Kingsdown Beach in Kent after crossing the English Channel today
Dozens of exhausted migrants including families with young children waited on the side of the road to be picked up near Kingsdown Beach in Kent after crossing the English Channel today
Dozens of exhausted migrants including families with young children waited on the side of the road to be picked up near Kingsdown Beach in Kent after crossing the English Channel today
Dozens of exhausted migrants including families with young children waited on the side of the road to be picked up near Kingsdown Beach in Kent after crossing the English Channel today
Dozens of exhausted migrants including families with young children waited on the side of the road to be picked up near Kingsdown Beach in Kent after crossing the English Channel today
One of the dinghies, packed with lifejackets, that dozens of exhausted migrants used to cross the English Channel today
Official figures are yet to be confirmed, but it is understood more than 200 have arrived – taking the year’s total of 5,851 past the 6,000 mark. It is not yet known how many vessels are involved.
However, it is believed another four boats have been detected off the Kent coast today as dinghies carrying migrants attempting the dangerous crossing remain in the Channel.
The latest arrivals come despite Home Secretary Priti Patel’s vow to make the route ‘unviable’, and the continued row between the Home Office and the legal profession on how to tackle the crossings.
Seventeen refugees crammed on one boat and made it to the UK yesterday. So far this September, a staggering 826 migrants have arrived over six days, including a record 416 migrants on 28 boats last week.
Dozens of exhausted migrants including families with young children waited on the side of the road to be picked up near Kingsdown Beach in Kent after crossing the English Channel today
Dozens of exhausted migrants including families with young children waited on the side of the road to be picked up near Kingsdown Beach in Kent after crossing the English Channel today
Dozens of exhausted migrants including families with young children waited on the side of the road to be picked up near Kingsdown Beach in Kent after crossing the English Channel today
Dozens of exhausted migrants including families with young children waited on the side of the road to be picked up near Kingsdown Beach in Kent after crossing the English Channel today
Dozens of exhausted migrants including families with young children waited on the side of the road to be picked up near Kingsdown Beach in Kent after crossing the English Channel today
Dozens of exhausted migrants including families with young children waited on the side of the road to be picked up near Kingsdown Beach in Kent after crossing the English Channel today
Dozens of exhausted migrants including families with young children waited on the side of the road to be picked up near Kingsdown Beach in Kent after crossing the English Channel today
Suspected migrants are brought into Dover, Kent, by Border Force officers following a small boat incident in the Channel
Suspected migrants are brought into Dover, Kent, by Border Force officers following a small boat incident in the Channel
Suspected migrants are brought into Dover, Kent, by Border Force officers following a small boat incident in the Channel
Suspected migrants are brought into Dover, Kent, by Border Force officers following a small boat incident in the Channel
The Coastguard, the RNLI and the Border Force cutter Seeker are all active today responding to migrants making the dangerous journey. French patrol forces are also active across the water border.
Responding to today’s migrant crossings, Nigel Farage said: ‘Total chaos in the Channel this morning. Border Force can’t cope, there have been several beach landings and some migrants have now disappeared into the hills.’
A Border Force vessel was seen towing four dinghies, thought to have been used by migrants, into Kent harbour.
Meanwhile, Border Force officials detained 223 migrants in 18 dinghies after they crossed the Channel to reach the UK on Monday – as French authorities stopped another 106 people making the crossing.
Suspected migrants are brought into Dover, Kent, by Border Force officers following a small boat incident in the Channel
A Border Force Officer carries a child migrant at Dover Marina after being rescued in the English Channel by the Border Force
Suspected migrants are brought into Dover, Kent, by Border Force officers following a small boat incident in the Channel
Suspected migrants are brought into Dover, Kent, by Border Force officers following a small boat incident in the Channel
Dan O’Mahoney, Clandestine Channel Threat Commander, said he has been working with counterparts in France to ‘make this route completely unviable’. They also revealed a further 106 people in eight boats were stopped by French authorities before they could get into UK waters.
Mr O’Mahoney said: ‘These crossings are facilitated by criminals willing to risk people’s lives for money. France is a safe country with a fully functioning asylum system – those seeking refuge can and should claim asylum there.
‘I continue to work with my counterparts in France on a daily basis to make this route completely unviable, and this morning the French stopped more migrants leaving the coastline.
‘Though I recognise the number still reaching the UK remains too high. We continue to return those who do not have a legitimate asylum claim despite barriers to removals under the Dublin Regulations and legal challenges.’
An empty migrant dinghy is collected by Border Force off the beach at St Margaret’s Bay on September 11, 2020 in Dover
Migrants wait on the beach at St Margaret’s Bay after landing by dinghy from France on September 11, 2020 in Dover
Migrants wait on the beach at St Margaret’s Bay after landing by dinghy from France on September 11, 2020 in Dover
A migrant removes his wet clothing at the beach at St Margaret’s Bay after landing by dinghy on September 11, 2020 in Dover
Migrants wait on the beach at St Margaret’s Bay after landing by dinghy from France on September 11, 2020 in Dover
Migrants wait on the beach at St Margaret’s Bay after landing by dinghy from France on September 11, 2020 in Dover