Channel migrants: Small boat with 11 men intercepted

The migrants were heading towards the UK coast when their small boat was intercepted

Eleven migrants trying to cross the Channel in a small boat have been intercepted by Border Force officials.

A Border Force cutter and a Coastal Patrol Vessel were deployed after an inflatable boat was seen at about 05:00 BST heading towards the Kent coast.

The 11 men on board were brought to Dover and medically assessed before being transferred to immigration officials, the Home Office said.

Their nationalities have not yet been confirmed.

On Friday, 22 migrants crossed the Channel in two dinghies in the early hours.

Border Force was called to St Margaret's Bay, Dover, at about 04:00 BST and found six people, including two children, on the beach.

An empty dinghy was found nearby.

An hour later, a second boat carrying four children, five women and seven men was intercepted off the coast of Kent.

A note on terminology: The BBC uses the term migrant to refer to all people on the move who have yet to complete the legal process of claiming asylum. This group includes people fleeing war-torn countries, who are likely to be granted refugee status, as well as people who are seeking jobs and better lives, who governments are likely to rule are economic migrants.