Almost 44,000 migrants have reached Britain in 2022 with 50 arriving in Dover ... trends now

The number of migrants to cross the English Channel in small boats has edged closer to 44,000 so far this year as dozens more asylum seekers arrived illegally into the UK today. 

Around 50 migrants were rescued and brought into the harbour at Dover, Kent, before dawn after making the dangerous crossing of one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes overnight.

Wrapped in blankets and wearing facemasks, they were brought ashore at the former jetfoil terminal in the Western Docks before being moved to the controversial immigration processing centre 20 miles away at Manston, near Ramsgate.

More crossings are expected today. It comes after a further 426 were intercepted by Border Force officers on Wednesday in eight boats.

Nearly 4,000 migrants made the crossing in November - 1,772 in the last week alone.

It takes the number who have arrived so far this year to 43,898 in 1,026 boats compared to 28,526 in the whole of 2021.

On Tuesday 884 migrants were intercepted in 17 separate incidents on Tuesday - an average of 52 people per vessel - stretching British rescue services.

The French coastguard prevented a further 240 people from reaching the UK the same day.

In the early hours of the morning the sea rescue boat Notre-Dame-du-Risban was tasked with rescuing 23 stranded migrants from the Calais Straits.

The French Navy vessel Flamant then intercepted 61 asylum seekers who had got into difficulty off the coast of Leffrinkoucke. The same boat intervened to rescue a further 34 people on a second boat a short while later.