First small boat crossing of 2025 as 61 arrive

A total of 61 migrants, who all arrived on one vessel, crossed on 4 January (stock image)

The first small boat crossing of 2025 has taken place, with 61 people making the journey across the channel.

The migrants, who all arrived on one vessel, crossed on 4 January.

It was the first crossings for six days after a period of unsettled weather to start off 2025.

A Home Office spokesperson said: "We all want to end dangerous small boat crossings, which threaten lives and undermine our border security."

Home Office figures released on New Year's Day show 36,816 people crossed the English Channel in small boats throughout 2024, an increase on the previous year, but not as many as in 2022.

The year 2024 was also the deadliest on record for the crossings, according to a United Nations agency.

More than 150,000 people have made the journey since 2018.

The Home Office spokesperson added: "The people-smuggling gangs do not care if the vulnerable people they exploit live or die, as long as they pay. We will stop at nothing to dismantle their business models and bring them to justice."