Another 26 Sudanese migrants were picked up in three boats in the English Chennel today – taking this year’s total to more than 5,000.
As many as 15 people are thought to have landed on Shakespeare beach, Dover, in the early hours of this morning after a dinghy was recovered there.
And five more boats were spotted being tugged into Dover harbour this morning, with more following later in the day.
Journeys across the 21-mile body of water were halted for the week after Storm Francis made the waterway too treacherous.
The latest journey means an estimated 5,025 people have arrived in the UK this year, eclipsing 2019’s figure of 1,850.
The number of people trying to reach British shores has surged in recent months, amid fears that France may clear the ‘Calais jungle’ and that it will get harder to claim asylum in the UK after Brexit.
This boat was found on Shakespeare Beach, Dover, around 6.30am today. Around five more were towed into the harbour in Kent this morning
The boat was loaded up with spades and a sleeping bag. The boat crossed the 21-mile channel
Migrants pictured being brought into Dover, Kent, while on board a Border Force vessel
At least four migrants pictured being motored into Dover, Kent, after crossing the Channel
They are pictured on board with two Border Force officers after crossing the Channel last night
Former Royal Marine Dan O’Mahoney, the Home Office’s new Clandestine Channel Threat Commander, said: ‘These crossings are illegally facilitated by criminals willing to risk people’s lives for money.
‘France is a safe country with a fully functioning asylum system – those seeking refuge can and should claim asylum there.
‘I am working with my counterparts in France daily to make this route totally unviable and through our joint intelligence work we have prevented many more migrants from leaving the French coastline today.
‘We continue to return those who do not have a legitimate asylum claim despite barriers to removals under the Dublin Regulations and legal challenges.’
Before the latest journeys over the shipping lane, the total number of migrants to have reached Britain by small boat stood at an estimated 4,950.
This comes after a dangerous crossing was made on Friday, when five migrants risked their lives in gale-force winds as they tried to reach the UK.
They presented themselves as Sudanese and Chad nationals upon arrival, and were taken to Dover where they were handed to immigration officials.
A number of migrants who made the crossing to the UK have gone on hunger strike in detention centres as they face deportation.
Charities and campaigners that support migrants said the strikes are taking place at the Brook House immigration removal centre near Gatwick airport.
As many as 13 migrants are thought to have been refusing food last week, with around five understood to still be on hunger strike.
There have also been reports of attempted suicide.
Campaign groups said a deportation flight had been scheduled for today, and yesterday, to France, Spain and Germany.
Huge winds were seen in the English channel throughout the day as five more migrants risked their lives in gale-force winds last week. Pictured: A DFDS ferry is hit by waves as it arrives at the Port of Dover in Kent
A haul of boats believed to have been used by migrants are seen in a Port Authority yard this month
Numbers of people trying to reach British shores (one group pictured last week) have surged in the summer months, prompting the Government to deploy RAF planes to the English Channel in an effort to tackle the problem
Last Wednesday, the body of Sudanese 28-year-old Abdulfatah Hamdallah was found washed up on a beach at Sangatte after he drowned trying to reach Britain.
Abdulfatah could not swim and died after his stolen 3ft dinghy capsized.
They had been using shovels to paddle and it is believed the makeshift oars punctured the boat, which the pair had stolen from a chalet.
Hundreds of boats recovered from British shore are currently been stored at a warehouse in Whitfield, Kent, MailOnline revealed last month.
The boats are stacked three high and in multiple rows and vary from fibreglass rowing boats to high tech large boats used by unscrupulous gangs.
It is unclear what will happen to the vessels, and whether they will be sold, repaired or taken straight to landfill to be discarded.
Six times as many illegal migrants have been arriving in the Canary Islands compared to last year, as increased security in the Mediterranean is pushing them to try the dangerous Atlantic crossing.
As many as 3,448 people had been picked up on the Spanish islands, as of August 16, whereas last year just 556 had arrived by mid-August.
However, arrivals on Spain’s Mediterranean shores have dropped by 50 per cent during the same period.