Migrant crossings: More than 400 people cross Channel in three days

More than 14,900 people in small boats have reached the UK so far in 2021

More than 400 migrants have crossed the English Channel in three days, the Home Office has confirmed.

On Wednesday, 85 people made the crossing, followed by 222 on Thursday and 174 on Friday.

The French authorities stopped 267 people from making the crossing in nine boats over the same period, a Home Office spokesman said.

More than 15,100 people have reached the UK in small boats this year.

About 8,400 people made the crossing in 2020, four times greater than 2019.

Dan O'Mahoney, Clandestine Channel Threat Commander, said:  "This unacceptable rise in dangerous crossings is being driven by criminal gangs and a surge in illegal migration across Europe. "

The Channel is one of the most dangerous and busiest shipping lanes in the world. Many migrants come from some of the poorest and most chaotic parts of the world, and many ask to claim asylum once they are picked up by the UK authorities.

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