A policy to age assess young asylum seekers immediately after they arrive in Dover has been deemed unlawful.

The case (R MA and HT v Secretary of State for the Home Department), heard at the High Court, challenged the Home Office policy, Kent Intake Unit Social Worker Guidance, which required for a 'Merton Age Assessment' to be undertaken on people in cases where they did not look to be clearly over 18.

It comes as thousands of asylum seekers crossed the English Channel in small boats in a bid to reach safe shores in the UK in 2021.

After arrival, they are taken to processing centres in Dover.

More asylum seekers have reached the UK so far this year, with boats seen arriving yesterday.

But in the judgement, Mr Justice Henshaw found the Home Office's policy to detain young people for an age assessment was unlawful, and that the decision to assess them immediately upon arrival - in some cases after having travelled across the world - places reliance on appearance, which is unreliable.

Some children were being assessed without an appropriate adult present.

Following the judgment, members of charities spoke out, calling the decision 'excellent news'.

Bridget Chapman, from the Kent Refugee Action Network, said: "We have been deeply concerned by the reports that children are being assessed immediately after arrival while they are still exhausted and traumatised by the journey.

"The consequences of getting this wrong are extremely serious and we have now seen numerous cases of children being placed in adult accommodation where their safeguarding is at risk.

"This process seems to have been designed to be deliberately harsh and we are extremely pleased that it has now been ruled unlawful."

Earlier this month, the Home Office announced it was to use 'scientific methods' to determine the age of asylum seekers in a bid to stop adults claiming to be younger than they are.

The new measures announced included X-ray and CT scans, and MRI imaging to view key parts of the body.

Such practices are already used in other parts of Europe, the Home Office said.

At the time, Ms Chapman said scientific methods to determine age are not possible.

She said: "There is a constant narrative in the media that we are seeing adults pretending to be children in order to abuse the system.

"Kent Refugee Action Network works with hundreds of people who have arrived as unaccompanied asylum seeking children every year and we rarely if ever encounter this scenario.

"What we see far more often is children assessed as adults and placed into adult accommodation. This is clearly a safeguarding issue."

An inquest earlier this month heard a teenage asylum seeker took his own life after being wrongly judged to have turned 18.

Alex Tekle was one of four Eritrean friends to kill themselves within 16 months after arriving in England to start new lives and being faced with repeat obstacles.

His birth certificate was ignored and Kent County Council sent him to live with adults, despite the fact he arrived alone and was just 17.

In December 2017, a few months after he turned 18 and less than a year after he arrived, Alex took his life in Mitcham, south London.

A Home Office spokesmann said: "We are disappointed by the court’s decision.

"The Government is committed to protecting children and the vulnerable but we cannot allow asylum seeking adults claim to be children – this presents a serious safeguarding risk.

"Our Nationality and Borders Bill seeks to improve the challenging age assessment process and will widen the evidence base for social workers to consider when making assessments and lead to better informed decisions."