This is the moment an 'overloaded' dinghy rammed with migrants landed in Kent before the group of men, women and children posed for selfies on the beach on a day where a record 482 people crossed the Channel illegally.
More than 10,000 migrants have officially crossed the Channel by small boat so far this year after almost 500 made the dangerous journey yesterday, piling even more pressure on Priti Patel who has pinned her political career on stopping them.
The Home Secretary has handed £54million extra to France to patrol their beaches and is announced a Nationality and Borders bill to make it harder for people to claim asylum but still they come in even greater numbers.
Dover and Deal MP Natalie Elphicke today condemned the record-breaking figure of migrants crossing the Channel as 'outrageous' – calling for boats to be turned around at sea and returned to France .
And yesterday a beachgoer filmed a boat of migrants pull up right next to Dungeness Power Station said that police were already waiting to collect them but allowed the group to pose for smartphone selfies on the pebbles.
The dramatic footage showed young children among the group of around 30 migrants who had made most of the treacherous crossing from France in a large blow-up boat before being rescued by the RNLI, which helped to bring them ashore.
The witness said: 'I was fishing with a friend and around 11am I spotted a red pontoon approaching the shore. The pontoon was full of people and it was definitely overloaded.
'The police were already waiting for them at the beach. When they got to the beach they kept very calm and walked away with the police officers. I guess there were around 20 people, maybe more, of different ages. I saw small kids, teenagers and lots of adults. Some of them were even taking photos of themselves when they landed'.
Trudging wearily across one of Britain's most iconic beaches, this is the moment a group of migrants were captured on video arriving in the country as figures showed that an estimated 10,000 have crossed the Channel this year and a record 482 people arrived yesterday
The group of around 30 migrants who had made most of the treacherous crossing from France in a large blow-up boat before being rescued by the RNLI, which helped to bring them ashore
A group of migrants lie down and sit on the beach after arriving on Dungeness beach on Wednesday afternoon
The migrants are herded onto a coach after arriving at the beach in Dungeness earlier on Wednesday
The number of migrants crossing the Channel between 2019-21 has been increasing year-on-year. The graph above shows how many have crossed each month. The red line for 2021 soars above the lines for previous years, showing the monthly total is now at its highest ever
Dover and Deal MP Natalie Elphicke condemned the record-breaking figure of migrants crossing the Channel as 'outrageous' – calling for boats to be turned around at sea and returned to France .
Priti Patel has agreed to give France another £54million to stop the growing number of migrants crossing the Channel
Priti Patel has agreed to give France another £54million to stop the growing number of migrants crossing the Channel.
The Home Secretary's controversial agreement with French interior minister Gerald Darmanin will see policing numbers along the French coast more than double to 200 to cover a wider area.
There will also be an increased use of aerial surveillance, including drones. The two countries agreed to draw up a long-term plan for a 'smart border' using technology to identify where crossings are being attempted.
But the deal failed to impress critics, who accuse the French authorities of not doing enough to stop small boats leaving their territorial waters.
With UK support last year, France doubled the number of officers deployed daily on French beaches, improved intelligence sharing and purchased more cutting-edge technology. This resulted in France preventing twice as many crossings so far this year than in the same period in 2020.
However, as French interceptions increased, the Home Office said that organised criminal gangs have changed their tactics, moving further up the French coast, and forcing migrants to take even longer, riskier journeys.
Charities branded the measures inhumane, while refugee rights campaigner Lord Dubs said Miss Patel's plans were a 'disservice to this country's history'.
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She said: 'This year alone there have been more than 10,000 illegal crossings, and it's only the first week of August. It's outrageous and can't carry on like this. I have long said that a new approach is needed urgently on the small boats crossings. To stop boats leaving France in the first place, turn boats around in the Channel and make returns. That's the only way to bring the small boats crossings crisis to an end.'
The Channel crisis has reached new heights this week after figures showed more than 10,000 have now made the journey this year with Border Force have braced for 22,000 Channel migrants this year as record numbers make the dangerous crossing.
And last year a record number of unaccompanied children crossed the English Channel.
Kent County Council (KCC), which is responsible for their care, has repeatedly said it can't cope with the numbers. On one day last year it took 23 lone children into its care. A spokesman for the Home Office said a comment on arrival numbers from Wednesday is due shortly.
More than 10,000 migrants have officially crossed the Channel by small boat so far this year after almost 500 made the dangerous journey on Wednesday - a new record for a single day.
Border Force intercepted 482 people in 21 boats which smashed the previous daily record set on July 19 when 430 arrived.
And more migrants have already
