People smugglers use 36FOOT boat to run migrants across Channel

People smugglers trying to sneak migrants into the UK have started using boats as big as 36 feet long to pack in more people.

The massive dinghies were spotted this week in Dover as numbers who have got across the Channel have topped 5,000.

By this time last year there had been just 2,000, a rise that has sparked serious questions on the effectiveness of the UK's borders.

It came just days after up to 60 migrants were picked up in a dinghy before being taken to Dover Marina on HMS Seeker, where they then went to a holding facility.  

Immigration officials have already warned Border Force agents are struggling to cope with the extraordinary surge in crossings, and claimed the system 'is at the point of collapse'. 

And Kent County Council said last week it had 'reached the limit' for the number of unaccompanied child migrants it can look after.