At least 23 suspected migrants have been detained by Border Force officials after trying to enter the UK by crossing the English Channel over the course of 12 hours.
In three separate incidents yesterday, 23 migrants including a four-year-old children risked their lives travelling across some of the busiest shipping lanes in the world in small, open boats to reach Britain.
It brings the number of migrants picked up by emergency services on the Kent coast to 47 in just 48 hours.
The boat of migrants was intercepted by Border Force officials in a patrol vessel called Hunter
At 4.30am yesterday, a four-year-old child and a woman among nine migrants rescued by a patrol vessel called Hunter off the Kent coast.
The Rigid Hulled Inflatable Boat (RHIB) was said to be found in ‘distress in the south west shipping lane’, close to Dover’s Western Docks. All on board claimed they were Iranian.
A dinghy found at 9.15am was the second vessel to be escorted into Dover by lifeboat. The 10 people on board said they were all Iranian.
A Home Office spokesman said they will ‘progress their cases in accordance with the immigration rules’.
The latest pick-up happened at 2pm yesterday when a tanker called border force to say they had picked up five migrants in the Channel. Their condition is not yet known and the situation is ongoing.
The boat was brought into Dover Harbour and the occupants have been handed over to Border Force officers.
On Tuesday, a stolen French fishing boat was stopped as it entered the Port of Dover with 17 suspected migrants, including three children, on board.
The number of migrants picked up by emergency services on the Kent coast to 47 in just 48 hours. Pictured: Dover border force
On Tuesday, a stolen French fishing boat (pictured) was stopped as it entered the Port of Dover with 17 suspected migrants, including three children, on board
Seven suspected migrants were found in a lorry arriving from France at Dover in a separate incident on Tuesday. One person needed medical attention.
Dover MP Charlie Elphicke said: ‘These attempts to break into Britain are coming thick and fast and becoming more shocking by the day.
‘That people would take the risk of crossing the Channel on a small open boat with a toddler on board shows just how desperate they are.
‘It underlines yet again why we need to increase the number of vessels patrolling our border. Having just two cutters is simply not enough of a deterrent.
‘The Home Office must act urgently to tackle this growing problem – and boost our borders budget.’