Those arrivals brought the total number of people who have crossed to the UK aboard small boats this year to more than 12,500 before Monday’s landings, according to data compiled by the PA news agency. Sunday was the first time in more than two weeks there have been small boat crossings of the Channel because of prior bad weather, with 158 people, including five children, arriving in Dover from four boats. The odds are stacked against them but they struggle on to survive.” “We are talking about ordinary men, women and children who are forced to flee their home through no fault of their own. One woman was seen desperately clinging on to a small baby who was strapped to her body.Įnver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council, said: “The government needs to recognise that while there is war, persecution and violence, people will be forced to take dangerous journeys to seek safety. That same terror is happening in other countries such as Eritrea, Iran, Sudan and elsewhere.”Ī packed lifeboat was among those pictured arriving on a beach in Dungeness, Kent, on Monday, with officials seen leading its passengers away.

“The shocking images we’ve seen in Afghanistan has shown what forces people to leave their country. A group of people are brought in to Dover, Kent, by Border Force officers.

Cartoon lifeboat