Eight migrants caught in small boat near Dover

A BOAT carrying eight suspected illegal immigrants was intercepted yesterday as they attempted to reach Dover.

The alarm was raised when the crew of a ferry spotted the small boat near them in the English Channel at about 7am.

Border Force officers were contacted and the message passed to one of its patrol boats, which is being used to catch immigrants crossing the channel, the world’s busiest shipping lane.

The eight adults were taken on board the HMC Seeker, a cutter, and then to Dover. Officials said they were initially showing signs of hypothermia, and were treated by an ambulance crew.

A Home Office spokesman said: ‘They were medically assessed and found to be well. They have been transferred to immigration officials for interview. Their nationalities have not been confirmed.’

Border Force officers have intercepted hundreds of migrants off the Kent coast this year as they attempt to reach Britain in small boats.

Many of the migrants waiting in France to cross the channel pool their money to buy a dinghy rather than pay huge sums to smugglers.