Migrant mayhem as asylum seekers wade through water for 'taxi boat' to cross Channel

A group of people thought to be migrants in Dover earlier this month (Image: Jim Bennett/PA Wire)

Brazen migrants were seen wading through the sea to board so-called “taxi boats” before crossing the English Channel to Britain as another wave of small boats reached Dover. Around 70 migrants arrived on the Kent coast on Monday morning after being picked up mid-Channel by a Border Force vessel, according to GB News.

Fresh groups of migrants were also spotted massing on beaches near Dunkirk in northern France as smugglers prepared further launches during the Bank Holiday getaway. The first dinghy is understood to have left the French coast between 2am and 3am before making its way into one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.

Migrants struggle to board crossing boat at Wimereux

It later sailed past French naval vessels before being intercepted around the halfway point in the Channel by Border Force cutter BSC Courageous at about 5am.

The group is believed to have arrived in Dover shortly after 6am.

Images obtained by GB News showed migrants trudging through shallow water off the French coast to climb aboard inflatable “taxi boats” already waiting offshore.

The tactic has become increasingly common among people-smuggling gangs because French police are unable to intervene once the vessels are in the water.

Under existing French rules, officers can slash boats while they are still on beaches, but they are generally barred from entering the sea unless lives are deemed to be at risk.

The latest arrivals pushed the total number of migrants crossing the Channel over the Bank Holiday weekend to close to 1,000, with fears the figure could rise further if calm weather conditions continue.

More than 900 migrants had already arrived in Britain since Friday, before Monday’s crossings were counted.

The spike came as Britain sweltered through unusually hot May temperatures, with conditions at sea described as favourable for crossings.

The Met Office said heatwave thresholds had been reached across several parts of England over the weekend, with temperatures topping 32C in London on Sunday.

Authorities are also facing growing concern over the widening range of launch sites being used by traffickers.

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Belgium has emerged as a major new departure point, with more than 20 migrant boats reportedly leaving beaches in West Flanders during April alone.

Belgian police chiefs have warned that former soldiers from countries including Iraq and Afghanistan are increasingly being used to escort migrant groups and intimidate officers attempting to intervene.

Nicholas Paelinck, a senior Belgian police chief, recently warned that “violent” ex-military migrants were accompanying boats on the coast, making it increasingly dangerous for police to carry out enforcement operations.

Police have also reportedly discovered weapons and ammunition inside migrant camps near the coastline.

Hannelore Hochepied, police chief in Ostend, warned Belgian MPs that the situation would become even harder to control during the busy summer months.

Former independent chief inspector of borders and immigration John Vine told GB News the developments posed a “very serious threat”.

He said: “If some of them are armed, police should be immediately calling for armed support for officers to actually do their job in Belgium.

“They need to tackle it now before it becomes something that becomes a routine part of the smuggling gangs’ operation.”