Child holding a man's hand is among group of migrants arrive in Dover

Child holding a man’s hand is among group of migrants brought into Dover by Border Force escort on another day of Channel crossings

• Scores of migrants were spotted being brought ashore in Kent this morning
• A little girl was seen clinging to her father’s hand as they stepped on land
• An inflatable dinghy believed to have been used in the crossing lay on beach
• More than 75,000 migrants have crossed the Channel in the past four years

Poignant images today showed a little girl clinging to an adult’s hand moments after arriving onshore from a dangerous crossing over the English Channel.

Scores of migrants were spotted being picked up by Border Force crowded on a vessel at the end of their 20-mile journey.

The first group were escorted into the harbour at Dover, Kent on board Border Force vessel Ranger around 9.30am. 

UK officials could be seen handing out blankets to asylum seekers as they disembarked the boat.

Around two hours later, the same vessel returned with dozens more migrants on board. The mostly male group were led along the gangway to be taken by coach to the processing centre at Manston near Ramsgate, Kent.

Poignant images today showed a little girl clinging to her father’s hand moments after arriving onshore from a dangerous crossing over the English Channel

Scores of migrants were spotted being picked up by Border Force crowded on a vessel at the end of their 20-mile journey

Small boats used to cross the Channel by people thought to be migrants are removed from the water and documented before being taken away from the Port of Dover in Kent

An inflatable dinghy, believed to have been used in the passage, was also brought in from the sea. 

It comes after no migrants were detected trying to cross the Channel in small boats on Wednesday, due to wet and cold conditions at sea.

According to data released by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) 36,463 migrants have arrived in the UK on inflatable dinghies and other small craft in 2022. 3,462 of those crossings were in October alone.

The busiest day this month came on Sunday (October 9), when 1,065 migrants reached British soil.

This year’s figures have already surpassed the total for 2021 which saw 28,526 people cross the Channel by small boat, and 2020 when just 8,410 asylum seekers arrived in the UK.

Scores of migrants were spotted being picked up by Border Force crowded on a vessel at the end of their 20-mile journey

Reports suggest smugglers are now packing as many as 53 people to a boat.

But a BBC South East investigation on Wednesday found that human traffickers are struggling to get hold of the vessels.

It also revealed that migrants in France have been getting free public buses from camps to the beaches where they will be sent over the UK by small boat.

MP for Dover, Natalie Elphicke, described the situation as ‘truly shocking’.

She said: ‘Alongside the brazen criminality of the people smugglers, it beggars belief that there is a free public bus from the migrant camps to the beach departure points.

‘It’s little wonder we are seeing record breaking arrivals coming through the illegal small boats crossings route.’

Official Home Office figures show that between January 2018 and June 2022, 51,881 migrants were recorded as arriving in the UK.

Since then 23,747 have been detected, according to provisional Ministry of Defence (MoD) data.

Small boats used to cross the Channel by people thought to be migrants are removed from the water and documented before being taken away from the Port of Dover in Kent

The department said 856 migrants arrived in 19 boats on Wednesday, as Channel crossings continued for a fifth day in a row.

Children wrapped in blankets were pictured being carried to safety by lifeboat crews at Dungeness beach in Kent.

The provisional total for the year so far is now more than 36,400, including 3,462 crossings recorded in October to date.

Some 299 migrants were detected in 2018, followed by 1,843 in 2019, 8,466 in 2020 and 28,561 in 2021.

The crossings continue as the Government faces another legal challenge against its plan to send migrants to Rwanda after similar court hearings took place last month.

Barristers representing the charity Asylum Aid told High Court judges on Thursday the Government’s policy of sending people to the east African nation was ‘inherently unlawful and unfair.’

Deportation flights are on hold while the legal disputes are ongoing.

The court is expected to give its ruling on all the cases at the same time at a later date.

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