More than 500 migrants crossing Channel in small boats reach Britain in three days as crisis grows
OVER 500 migrants have reached Britain in three days by crossing the English Channel in small boats.
Families with young children have been among hundreds of people arriving into Dover as the political crisis intensifies.
In August, more than 650 migrants have successfully reached British shores. Around 532 came between Thursday and Saturday.
Up to 12 people were seen being brought ashore in the port this morning.
Officials were seen aiding families onto Border Force vessels from their inflatable dinghies, which were later stored in Dover harbour .
One Border Force crew member was seen carrying a small infant in his arms to safety. Towels were wrapped around children who had made the dangerous crossing.
Earlier this week, a heavily pregnant woman was among 230 who tackled the 21-mile route. She was part of a group that landed in Dungeness, Kent.
Boats continue to make the perilous journey across the Channel despite Home Secretary Priti Patel vowing to make the passage to the UK “unviable”.
She promised to make crossings “unviable” by stopping boats leaving France, intercepting boats and returning those who try and make it across.
On Friday, Ms Patel accused French authorities of not “cooperating” as she demanded their help to intercept boats and discourage them from trying to cross the Channel.
She tweeted: “We also need the cooperation of the French to intercept boats and return migrants back to France.
“I know that when the British people say they want to take back control of our borders – this is exactly what they mean.”
The Home Secretary appointed former Royal Marine Dan O’Mahoney yesterday as “small boats commander” in a bid to spearhead action against illegal migrants crossing the Channel.
Commander O’Mahoney, an expert in ship-to-ship operations, has been put in charge of a massive new mission to stop dinghies and other small vessels sailing to Britain’s shores from France.
Bridget Chapman, spokeswoman for the Kent Refugee Action said: “The Government’s handling of the issue is becoming increasingly chaotic, with elements of sabre-rattling.”
She accused the Government of escalating a failing strategy by calling in the military to deal with a humanitarian situation.
“Priti Patel has said that she wants to make the Channel ‘unviable’ for people attempting to cross. But what is unviable is her approach,” she said.
Ms Chapman urged the Home Secretary and her French counterparts to offer a safe, legal route to the UK which she claims would close the passage overnight.
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Calais MP Pierre Henri Dumont said earlier in the week that trying to stop migrants crossing was “like trying to empty the sea with a spoon.”
Dover MP Natalie Elphicke has constantly called for migrants to be returned to France irrespective of whether they are intercepted in French or British waters.
Over 4,000 migrants have reached the UK in small boats this year.