Police say a vessel containing migrants has been found near Dover.

It is understood eight men were detained by Border Force officers in St Margaret's Bay at around 7am.

A small boat, which was seen on the beach, was seized by officers.

A spokesman for Kent Police said: "Kent Police was called by HM Coastguard to St Margaret’s Bay at 6.53am.

"Officers attended and those from the vessel are now in the care of Home Office officials."

The migrant crisis continues to grow with 17 incidents on both sides of the Channel, involving a total 195 people, in just seven days from September 10 to September 19.

On Tuesday, September 10, an unprecedented total of 86 people were picked in in five incidents of crossings.

Small boats landed in Littlestone and Winchelsea, and another was seen near Dungeness.

Three others vessels were stopped mid-sea, two in one case, and the occupants brought to Dover.

That same day French maritime authorities photographed a lone kayaker in the Channel.

He was first seen nearly five miles outside Calais and a Belgian rescue helicopter later pinpointed him 11 miles north of Gravelines near Dunkirk.

The man was found to have mild hypothermia when a French rescue boat picked him up and he was taken to Dunkirk and handed to border police.

Earlier this week, it was also revealed Britain First have started beach patrols for migrants in the area.

The far-right activists have started patrols in the Dover area on the lookout for migrants.

And hardline Britain First says it will intensify them in the coming weeks as part of a campaign called Operation White Cliffs.

Deal resident Ben Bano, co-director of Seeking Sanctuary, which promotes awareness of the plight of refugees, said of the patrols: "This is an unhelpful and unnecessary initiative, which will only inflame tensions."

Read more: All the latest news from Dover