Dozens more migrants arrived in Kent today after crossing the English Channel with babies among those on board, as figures revealed nearly 2,000 arrived in the last week - setting a new record for the year so far.
Several young children were among a group seen arriving in Dungeness, while immigration officers tended to a woman who had been taken ill after she was brought ashore on a stretcher by police and members of the RNLI.
Along the coast at Dover, a further group of migrants were brought into the marina on a Border Force vessel. The crossings come amid reports of cooler and slightly overcast weather today with breezy but clear conditions at sea.
A total of 1,959 people crossed the Channel from France in the week to September 10 - the highest total for any seven-day period in 2021 - and at least 14,400 people have now crossed to the UK on board small boats this year.
Figures for the most recent seven-day period, the week to September 12, show 1,876 people arrived. The total for 2021 is already about 6,000 higher than the number of people who made the crossing in 2020, which was 8,420.
The Government is facing huge pressure to reduce the numbers, with Priti Patel promising to pay France £54.2million to tackle the problem, although a £28.2million payment in November failed to stop the crossings.
The Home Secretary is also planning to spend £200million on a fleet of patrol boats to replace Border Force's five ageing cutters, which detect illegal immigration and smuggling.
A woman carries a child after group of migrants were brought into Dungeness today by an RNLI lifeboat
A RNLI boat with migrants onboard is met by Border Force officers and police at the beach in Dungeness today
Police officers and members of the RNLI carry a person from a boat after migrants arrive at Dungeness today
Migrants walks on the beach alongside Border Force officers in Dungeness today as Channel crossings continue
A group of migrants including children are helped up a pebbled beach by Border Force officers at Dungeness in Kent today
Immigration Enforcement officers and the RNLI assist a group of migrants after they were brought into Dungeness today
A migrant walks along the beach holding a child at Dungeness in Kent today as the Channel crossings continue
Members of the RNLI and Immigration Enforcement officers assist a group of people brought into Dungeness today
A group of migrants walk along the beach at Dungeness in Kent today after arriving on an RNLI lifeboat
Immigration Enforcement officers and members of the RNLI assist a group of migrants at Dungeness today
A woman is helped through the water and onto the beach at Dungeness today after arriving on an RNLI boat
Police officers carry a person from a boat after a group of migrants were brought into Dungeness today
A RNLI boat with migrants onboard arrives at Dungeness today as people continue to cross the Channel in small boats
An officer from Immigration Enforcement escorts a child along the beach at Dungeness today
Police officers and members of the RNLI carry a person from a boat after an arrival of migrants at Dungeness today
A graph showing the number of migrants crossing the Channel on small boats since 2019. The figure has increased each year
Border Force officers are also set to use X-ray medical technology to confirm the age of migrants arriving here after a string of high profile cases in which would-be asylum seekers falsely claimed to be under 18.
One spent six weeks as a Year 11 pupil at a school in Ipswich in 2018 before the local authority discovered he was years older.
At present, social workers simply study the appearance, behaviour and language of those claiming to be children to assess whether they are telling the truth.
But according to a Government document seen by The Mail on Sunday, x-rays of teeth and wrist bones could be used to provide a more accurate picture of a young person's age.
A man carries a child on the beach today after a group of migrants were brought into Dungeness by an RNLI lifeboat
A RNLI boat with migrants onboard arrives at the harbour in Dungeness today as small boat crossings continue
Police officers carry a person from a boat after migrants are brought into Dungeness by an RNLI lifeboat today
An officer from Immigration Enforcement carries a child along the beach after migrants were brought into Dungeness today
Immigration Enforcement officers and members of the RNLI assist migrants from an RNLI lifeboat at Dungeness today
People are helped by Border Force officers at the harbour in Dungeness today following another set of arrivals in Kent
A RNLI boat with migrants onboard ps met by Border Force officers and police
