Nearly 70 migrants including a baby and toddlers arrive in Dungeness after crossing English Channel as numbers reaching UK by boat this year tops 7,000

Around 70 migrants were brought ashore by Border Force officers today after they made the perilous crossing across the English Channel.  

A group of around 20 men, many of whom appeared to be in their 20s, were brought into harbour on the beach at Dungeness, along the coast of Kent, by the Border Force cutter Speedwell at around 10.30am.

They were soon followed by around 50 migrants who were brought into the harbour by emergency teams.

The Home Office is yet to confirm exactly how many arrived on Sunday or how many have made the 21-mile crossing today but more than 7,000 migrants are believed to have crossed the Channel by small boat so far this year.        

A group of migrants are brought into harbour on the beach at Dungeness, along the coast of Kent, by the Border Force officials

Migrants, including children and toddlers, were arrived to Dover Marina in Kent today after crossing the English Channel

Migrants in life jackets are assisted by Border Force officers as they arrive to Dover Marina

Among those making the treacherous crossing today was a young girl wearing a pink rain jacket over her life jacket and a woman, believed to be her mother.  

She was sat next to a young boy who was holding the hand of a man wearing a face mask - believed to be his father.      

Around 10 boats are thought to have attempted the treacherous trip across the world's busiest shipping route today as the number of vessels left eerily floating at the harbour in Dover continues to rise.

It comes after a dramatic rescue was launched on Sunday after two people fell off a rigid hulled inflatable boat and into the freezing cold sea. 

The voluntary crew of the Ramsgate lifeboat towed the drifting rib, packed with around 20 migrants, into Ramsgate harbour in Kent where Border Force officers were waiting for them.

Following the incident, an RNLI spokesman said: 'The Ramsgate inshore lifeboat launched at 10.10am this morning following reports that there were two people in the water.

'Two people, who were wearing lifejackets, were rescued from the water and the rib, from which the casualties had fallen, was towed into Ramsgate and the relevant authorities informed.'

A group of migrants arrive to the Kent coast after crossing the world's busiest shipping route today

Children were among those who were brought into harbour by emergency teams earlier this morning

A group of migrants arrive to Dover Marina in Kent today after making the treacherous journey across the English Channel

The Home Office is yet to confirm exactly how many arrived on Sunday or how many have made the 21-mile crossing today

A Border Force officer carries a toddler from a migrant boat in Dover, Kent this morning

Rescue teams escort migrants as they arrive to Dover in Kent this morning

In another incident, pictures posted on social media showed around 15-20 migrants apparently coming ashore near Folkestone, Kent after arriving on an inflatable.

People smugglers took advantage of calm sees over the weekend with 225 migrants crossing the treacherous 21-mile Dover Straits in 10 boats on Saturday.

A further 131 were intercepted by French authorities before they could reach British waters on Saturday.  

On Saturday, a Border Force officer was seen carefully carrying a baby in his arms from a patrol boat to the quayside at Dover harbour as the child's parents walked close behind.

All three were wearing bright orange life jackets with the toddler's parents wearing face masks.

The group included a number of children and appeared to be mainly African and Middle Eastern.

It brings the number to have made the crossing so far this month to 972.

A total of 6,878 migrants have now made the treacherous trip so far this year - which is almost triple the 2,439 who had arrived by this point in 2020, Home Office figures show.

Migrants arrive to Dungeness in Kent after being brought by a RNLI Dungeness Lifeboat

Police officers at the scene as a group of migrants arrive to  Dungeness after crossing the Channel

Migrants wear life jacket and rain coats as they arrive to Dover Marina this morning

It comes as Home Secretary Priti Patel is set to announce plans to make it a criminal offence for migrants to attempt to enter the UK without valid entry clearance.

The Borders Bill will attempt to deter illegal entry and crackdown on people smuggling gangs.

It will be introduced next week after June saw more migrants cross the Channel by small boat than in any month ever before.

Border Force detained 2,179 people making the dangerous trip across the world's busiest shipping route in the world in 92 boats.

It smashed the previously monthly record set last September when 1,954 arrived on UK shores.

Clandestine Channel Threat Commander Dan O'Mahoney said: 'We are seeing an unacceptable rise in dangerous and unnecessary small boat crossings because illegal migration across Europe has led to a significant increase of migrants in northern France seeking to enter the UK illegally.

'The government continues to target the criminal gangs who are responsible for these illegal crossings at every level with intelligence and surveillance, and the joint work with France means we have doubled the number of police officers on the ground in France who are intercepting the crossings and arresting the gangs behind this trade.'