Another eight boat migrants are picked up in Channel

EIGHTS migrants – including two young children – were picked up in a small boat in the English Channel yesterday.

The migrants, who all claimed to be Iranian, were found by Border Force officers off the coast of Dover at 4am. All were given medical checks before being taken for interview with immigration officials.

They are the latest to make the perilous trip across the Channel, following on from hundreds in the past six months.

Earlier this month, three British men were arrested and eights migrants detained after two boats came ashore on the Kent coast.

Last week, 21 migrants – including a one-year-old child – tried to get over from Calais in two separate boats. The first boat was intercepted on French waters in a rescue mission, while the second boat broke down in the Channel.

A Home Office spokesman said: ‘This is a complex issue which requires action on many fronts. Since the Home Secretary declared a major incident in December two cutters have returned to UK waters from overseas operations, we have agreed a joint action plan with France.’