August is already busiest month EVER for Channel crossings

A record number of migrants have already crossed the English Channel in small boats this month, as the total for this year passes 24,000.

According to official government figures, over 7,000 people have made the journey across the 21-mile Dover Straits so far in August alone - making it the busiest month since the current records began in 2018. 

The previous monthly record was November 2021 when 6,869 migrants reached the UK in inflatable dinghies or other small craft.

On Monday, the daily total for crossing was beaten when 1,295 people arrived in the UK in 27 boats - an average of 48 people per vessel.

The Ministry of Defence has been recording how many small boats cross the English Channel on a regular basis since 2018.

French patrol officers are reportedly being overwhelmed by migrants who arrive on beaches in 'a flash-mob manner', sometimes in their hundreds, and even become violent according to French authorities.

A huge number of vessels set off from the French coast every week, despite about 800 daily patrols taking place along 100-miles of coast in northern France.

The local authority in France that covers Calais, said 390 migrants attempting to cross were intercepted on the day more than 1,200 made it to the UK.

The influx in crossings is partly due to smugglers trying to clear their backlogs after  bad weather prevented any boats from making the trip for several days. Making the crossing later in the year also becomes more difficult as the conditions become rougher.