Nine migrants found on rocks after crossing the Channel

NINE suspected migrants have been found clambering up rocks at Folkestone in Kent after apparently crossing the Channel in an inflatable boat.

The group, all thought to be Iranians, were picked up after contacting police early yesterday to say they were in trouble off the coast at Dover.

Border Force officials responded and apprehended the group, which had landed close Folkestone Harbour.

A Home Office spokesman said: “All of these individuals will now be processed in line with immigration rules.”

Separately, the body of a suspected migrant was found trapped underneath a bus at the Eurotunnel terminal in Folkestone, police said. Officers were called at 11:10 yesterday morning to the terminal, where the person was declared dead. The death is not being treated as suspicious.

More than 60 suspected migrants have attempted to enter the UK via the Kent coast in recent days.

It is thought many are desperate to enter Britain before the Brexit deadline in March and are taking advantage of relatively benign weather conditions. On Tuesday, 14 men and three minors, all Iranian, were stopped in Dover on a fishing boat. On Wednesday, three boats carrying suspected migrants were picked up by the coastguard.

In a separate incident, police found seven men while searching a lorry arriving from Calais on Tuesday.

The Home Office spokesman added: “We are alert to the risk posed by people attempting to reach the UK illegally via small vessels.

“We have increased coastal patrol vessels and have stepped up deployments along the south-east coast.”