An asylum seeker twice deported from the UK discovered it was not a case of third time lucky when his latest bid to illegally enter the country saw him jailed for nine months today.

A court heard Albanian Ylirjan Jaho, 28, first arrived in the back of a lorry in June 2015, only for the British authorities to return him to France.

But in 2019 he was discovered by police in the West Midlands, having again arrived illegally two-and-a-half years earlier.

Despite having applied in that time for asylum, the construction worker was said to have “changed his mind” and agreed in March 2019 to be deported back to his homeland “at the public expense”, prosecutor James Ross told Canterbury Crown Court.

But on June 19 this year he tried for a third time to get into to the UK, only to be intercepted by the authorities in the English Channel.

“Jaho was one of 46 people, all of them non-UK nationals, on a rigid-hull inflatable. This boat had left France and at the time it was stopped, had entered UK waters,” said Mr Ross.

Home Office figures announced that same day revealed more than 10,500 people had already crossed the Channel in small boats in 2023. That figure is now more than 15,000.

Jaho, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to attempting to enter the UK without valid entry clearance.

Kieran Brand, defending, told the court Jaho had been trying to escape “a blood feud” in Albania and saw the UK as “a safe place”.

The court heard he has no previous convictions and worked, albeit unlawfully, throughout this time while living with relatives in Oxford.

Mr Brand added Jaho had played no organisational or leading role in the smuggling operation itself, such as steering the boat.

It was not said how much he paid to travel on the dinghy.

Jailing Jaho, Recorder Sarah Counsell told him that while his attempt to enter the UK was a “desperate” one, his offending was aggravated by his previous two illegal arrivals.

“The offence is becoming more and more prevalent and is a matter of genuine public concern,” said the judge.

“The method by which people are trying to enter the UK puts them at considerable risk and causes potential danger and disruption to one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world.”

Jaho, who has been in custody since his arrest, thanked the judge.

He is likely to be deported after serving half his jail term.