MIGRANTS STILL BRAVING CHANNEL CROSSING

DESPITE the chilly temperatures yesterday, dozens of migrants used a break in choppy seas to try to reach the UK yesterday.

A significant Border Force presence was deployed in the English Channel as a result, with French warships also active.

As winter approaches, crossings have become increasingly difficult with few believed to have successfully made it to Britain so far this month.

But despite the chill, low winds in Dover yesterday meant conditions became briefly more favourable for the dangerous crossing.

Meanwhile, more than 100 local residents gathered outside a military barracks in Kent where migrants are being housed to greet their “new neighbours”.

Napier Barracks, in Folkestone, has been converted to house around 400 asylum seekers, many of whom have crossed the Channel by boat.

The Home Office confirmed yesterday that one individual who had been living at Napier Barracks has tested positive for Covid-19.

The unidentified person has been moved out of the military site.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “The safety and well-being of asylum seekers and the local communities in which they live is of the utmost importance, and we have robust measures in place to deal with any cases of coronavirus in our contingency accommodation.”

Dozens of well-wishers assembled at the barracks yesterday to welcome the asylum seekers who have been arriving in recent weeks.

Many bore placards with messages of solidarity in English and Arabic, some of which were fixed to the barracks fence.

Groups of well-wishers shouted through gaps in the site boundary and waved to those inside, many of whom waved back.

There were outbreaks of clapping and cheering in the festive atmosphere.