Migrant baby taken into care as 200 cross Channel
Six-month-old is thought to be one of the youngest migrants ever to make the perilous journey to the UK
A SCREAMING baby thought to be one of the youngest migrants to ever cross the Channel was taken into care by Border Force yesterday as another 200 people on more than a dozen boats made the dangerous journey across the busy waterway.
The boy, thought to be around six months old, was one of a number of small children and toddlers seen being rescued from overloaded vessels off the Kent coast, as others made landfall and ran off towards a local golf club.
In a phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron, Boris Johnson said it was imperative that boats were prevented from arriving on UK shores.
September is on course to be a record month for illegal crossings, with around 650 people reaching Britain in one week. August saw 1,400 people arrive in this way.
In a statement, Number 10 said the leaders discussed the shared challenge of illegal small boat crossings from France to the UK.
“The Prime Minister set out that the UK’S aim is to stop the smuggling operations and prevent boats arriving on our shores, and they agreed to work together in a spirit of cooperation to address the issue.” Mr Macron pledged to “step up” cooperation with the UK “against migrant smugglers”.
The new crossings come just days after a record 416 migrants in 28 boats reached the UK.
This year, more than 5,600 people have crossed the Channel and been taken in by British authorities.
Yesterday, a group of around 16 migrants landed on the beach at Kingsdown and fled inland, stunning locals out for their morning walks.
A group of four women were pictured hiding in bushes at Kingsdown golf course, before being located by Border Force officials and police.
Christian Thrale told Kent Online: “I could see a boat coming quite quick towards the beach, I saw about 16 immigrants jump off and walk to shore.
“They left the boat in the water floating but me and a couple of women pulled it on to the shore because we didn’t want it floating off.”
At Dover, a number of toddlers and small children were taken into care, including a young girl wrapped up in a pink coat, and a small boy with a blanket draped over his shoulders. A boy of around six months cried as he was handed over to immigration officials, his tiny head poking out of a bright orange life jacket.
The youngest person ever thought to have made this clandestine journey was around three months old, and arrived in August.
In Maidstone, another suspected migrant was pictured being pulled down from a car’s roof box by police officers at a service station off the M20.
Last night, French authorities said that they had picked up 83 migrants in the Channel and returned them to France. One boat was carrying 45 people, while in another, men were using shovels as oars.
Over the weekend Dan O’mahoney, the UK’S new Clandestine Channel Threat Commander, said: “It is a fact that the majority of these crossings are facilitated by criminals making money exploiting migrants desperate to come to our country.”
Yesterday, Kent Police announced that six men have been charged with crimes including public disorder and obstructing police following anti-migrant protests in Dover on Saturday.
Demonstrators marched from the seafront onto the A20 road, and blocked traffic for over an hour.
Officers charged Nigel Marcham, 51, and Dave Goldsmith, 51, with public disorder. Joe Wardle, 30, Ashley Parker, 28, and Jason Heath, 31 were charged with obstructing police officers. Heath was also charged with drug possession, along with Paul Smith, 37. All six have been released on bail and will appear in court at a later date.
Kent Police said it was “unacceptable” that anyone would use protests as an excuse for criminal behaviour.