Coastal village now a smugglers’ haven

Locals at Kent seaside fear for their security after latest migrant group arrives on inflatable boat

THE residents of Dymchurch like to say that the beach is the jewel in their crown.

With its miles of sand, sloping gently down to the waters of the English Channel, it is home to donkey rides, kite surfers and families enjoying the delights of the British seaside.

But locals fear this tranquillity may soon become a distant memory – as migrants fleeing the world’s trouble spots begin turning up on their doorstep.

Late on Saturday night 18 Albanian migrants, including a woman and two children, were rescued from an inflatable boat in the Channel after those on board telephoned their families to say the vessel was taking on water.

The next day a dinghy, thought to be linked to the stricken inflatable, was found on Dymchurch beach, while just over two weeks ago Border Force officials seized an inflatable boat they suspected of being used in a people trafficking operation.

Many of those living in the Kent village are convinced this is just a taste of things to come and that their pleasure beach could revert to its 18th-century incarnation as a smugglers’ haven. Back then spirits, tea and tobacco were smuggled into the surrounding expanse of Romney Marsh – but this time the cargo is human.

The arrival of the 18 has added to an increasingly bitter row over the resources available to the Border Force and whether Britain’s 7,000 miles of coastline are being adequately policed. Critics point out that the force has only three patrol vessels.

Like many in Dymchurch, Jeff Meader, a 68-year-old who has lived in the village for a decade, said there had been a noticeable increase in suspicious activity on the beach in recent months.

“Everyone around here is quite concerned by it all. This place has been a smuggler’s dream for more than 300 years, but over the last year we have begun to see this all the time,” he said. Mr Meader blames the crisis on the European Union’s policy of free movement of people across its borders.

“It seems to be something nobody wants to talk about, the security, but we’ve really noticed it. To be honest seeing it just makes everyone here want to get out of the EU,” he said.

There are claims locally that Border Force officials have tried to play down the scale of the problem.

At the Royal British Legion, next to the seafront promenade, Malcolm Clifford, 64, said: “Twelve days ago we saw another black tipper boat pulled up on the beach, with border agency staff and police officers everywhere. Apparently they found a load of life jackets on board. It never got reported. There were three vans of police, and border agency officers and a zodiac boat close to shore. They also said they’d caught someone down in Chichester – it’s obviously happening all the time around here. The sandy beach makes it easy for them to land easy.”

After Saturday’s incident Robert Stilwell, 33, from Dartford, who won a silver medal in judo at the European championships in 2000, was charged with people smuggling along with Mark Stribling, 35, from Farningham, Kent.

Few in Dymchurch believe it will be the last attempt to use their stretch of coast as a landing stage. French officials have already warned that more migrants will attempt to reach Britain by boat this summer, as tighter security at the ferry ports and the Eurotunnel drives them to seek alternative routes.

Some fear the activities of the people smugglers will alter the very character of their village.

Anne Roots, 62, who works in the local amusement arcade, said: “This is a peaceful little village, but it does worry me that this is going to get worse. I never used to lock my front door, but now I get increasingly worried about the house when I’m away.”