A record 1,295 asylum seekers arrived in the UK yesterday after crossing the Channel.

Babies and young children were among passengers seen being brought ashore in Dover.

A total of 27 boats made the journey, according to the Ministry of Defence.

It is the highest daily total since present records began in 2018.

The crossings came after a three-day pause between Friday and Sunday, when no arrivals were recorded.

But a total of 1,078 people made it across in 25 boats from Monday, August 15, to Thursday, August 18.

More than 22,600 people have arrived in the UK from France in small boats such as dinghies in 2022 to date, the figures say.

There were 28,526 people detected coming in small boats in 2021. This compares with 8,466 in 2020, 1,843 in 2019 and 299 in 2018.

The British Government has struggled to stop the arrivals, even announcing plans to deport asylum seekers crossing the Channel to Rwanda in April.

But the first flight in June was stopped from even taking off after an intervention by the European Court of Human Rights.

The current trend of asylum seekers reaching the UK in small craft has continued since 2018.

Previously, the favoured method was hiding in the backs of lorries travelling on ferries to Dover.

The boat crossings have led to several tragedies.

Last November, 27 asylum seekers died off Calais when their dinghy capsized.

People making the crossing are usually rescued at sea by British authorities or land by themselves in areas such as Kingsdown near Deal and Dungeness.

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