More than 1,000 people have crossed the English Channel in small boats in the last four days, bringing the 2021 total to over 27,000.

On Thursday (December 16), UK authorities rescued 559 people from the sea between France and Kent, arriving on 19 boats.

On the same day, French authorities intercepted and prevented at least 247 people reaching the UK.

On Friday, another 358 people arrived in the county, having arrived on 10 different boats, while 317 people were stopped from making the journey.

There were no Channel crossings on Saturday, but yesterday (Sunday), 274 people crossed the sea on 11 boats, while 178 people were intercepted by the French.

As part of yesterday's crossings, a rescue missing took place off the coast of Lydd after five men entered the cold water.

All in all, the number of asylum seekers crossing the Channel since Thursday totals 1,191.

They would have been taken to Dover's Tug Haven facility, which is run by Border Force.

Figures for any crossings today have yet to be revealed by the Home Office.

Since the start of the year, more than 27,000 people have now reached the UK after navigating busy shipping lanes from France in small boats. This is more than triple the total for the whole of 2020.

Last month, a new law was passed, the Nationality and Borders Bill, which vowed to make crossing the Channel even harder.

It comes as 27 people died in November after the boat they were travelling in capsized. Among those to die were men, women and children.

Last week, inspectors found people were still being held in “very poor” conditions after coming ashore despite Home Office assurances of “significant improvements”.

Women who said they had been raped by smugglers were “not adequately supported”, and lone children were being held with unrelated adults, according to findings published after migrant detention facilities had been visited in the past three months.