Channel crossing by 319 takes total to 6,000 this year

Jamie Johnson

MORE THAN 300 migrants reached Britain on small boats yesterday, with dozens landing on beaches, taking the year’s total beyond 6,000.

It is understood at least 73 people reached the shores of Kent, with many landing at Kingsdown, near Deal.

A group of 33 arrived on a huge green inflatable boat around 9am. Dozens more were picked up by Border Force officers and taken into the Port of Dover.

The figure, a near-record total, takes the year’s overall number of arrivals to past the 6,000 mark, around three times the total for last year.

Sea conditions are said to have been ideal for making the perilous journey across the Dover Strait with good visibility, although it was cold. Lifeboats from Dover, Dungeness and Walmer had been launched to support Border Force officers.

Police tracked down “a number of suspected migrants” at Kingsdown. The group, which included four children, were seen standing at the side of the road near Kingsdown Beach in the morning.

Some of the adults lay on the floor and looked exhausted after making the treacherous trip. One man told onlookers: “I want to go to London.”

Natalie Elphicke, the Conservative MP for Dover, said yesterday: “I fully appreciate the strength of feeling about the continued small boats crossings.

“With around 6,000 illegal entrants this year alone, it is entirely unacceptable. I am working hard on this, and the Government has outlined a number of steps that it is taking to tackle this issue.”