More than 25,000 asylum seekers have made the deadly crossing across the world's busiest shipping lane this year, three times 2020's total.

We spoke to the photographers working to record the human face of a humanitarian crisis and witnessing a worrying trend as more and more people cram themselves into boats not fit for purpose.

Sean Aidan has been a photographer for 30 years.

He often visits beaches in the county, including Dungeness, and witnesses asylum seekers landing.

He said: "Some people might criticize me for taking photos of asylum seekers. But it is a story that is happening and whether I'm there or not makes no difference. They will still land.

"I have spoken to people on the beach before, and have heard so many harrowing stories. People are desperate.

"I spoke to one woman on the beach who had come off a lifeboat. She had travelled all the way from Eritrea with her five-year-old daughter to escape war and persecution.

"You wouldn't make the journey unless you were desperate. She was not an economic migrant, but a genuine asylum seeker."

Mr Aidan said he has no agenda when it comes to his work.

He adds: "I should say, I am not for or against asylum seekers. I'm sure there will be economic and political migrants, but there is a human story behind every person.

"That woman said she travelled across Europe to find a better life for her daughter. I have no political agenda, I just felt it was a story I wanted to highlight and cover.

"I'm just visually reporting what is happening."

Mr Aidan said he has also witnessed activists on the beaches who shout abuse at the asylum seekers, and the staff from Border Force or the RNLI.

He said: "The RNLI have been heavily criticised for helping people. But there is no difference to them where someone is from or the colour of their skin.

"They are saving lives. A lot of people forget they are volunteers."

In 2019, members of Britain First said they were going to start beach patrols in the Dover area on the lookout for refugees. The group said once its members found suspected asylum seekers it would alert the police and coastguards.

Another photographer, who wished to stay anonymous, has also witnessed members of far right groups along the coast, harassing asylum seekers as they land.

They said: "There are a number of characters - I stay out of their way - but they film migrants arriving and post on their own channels.

"I've seen them running around various areas, shouting abuse. It's solely to stream on their own websites. They have a specific audience and some of it is not nice to hear; it is quite unpalatable.

"And some of it is completely untrue."

Last month, a court told two activists they could be jailed for “abusing migrants” at the Port of Dover. Alan Leggett and Nigel Marcham are also banned from setting foot on the Eastern and Western Docks.

Read more: The people who celebrated 27 people drowning

Read more: Number of people crossing the Channel three times 2020's total

Asked why they think it is important that the media continues to cover landings, one photographer said: "I've thought a lot about that recently. It has got to me a couple of times.

"Selfishly as a photographer you think this will make pictures that will run in newspapers. But after a while it gets personal.

"I've covered migrant stories for years - before the boats - over in Calais and the camps there, and people hiding in lorries and I do think it has to be covered.

"People need to know it is still going on. And the government don't want it seen, don't want these photos seen.

"But the story needs telling. Migration is happening across the world. A lot of people that come across are families, with children, and they've got a reason to make that dangerous journey.

"I've seen children getting out of boats and they are traumatised.

"I heard one story of a family in Calais who made two attempts to cross the Channel, but that said they're not going to try again because of their children.

"I suppose it is about keeping it in people's minds - the human side of it.

"It's the children I think about, where they end up, and also the faces of some of the men and women, and what their life is going to be like.

"It has changed for me a bit. Rather than being about the picture that will make the paper, you think about the characters that you're photographing and what will happen to them. These are human beings.

"But it still needs recording. You take a picture to keep it in people's minds, keep it in politician's minds.

"But it does conflict me. How can you deny families and children, but then I see boats and boats of young men too coming across. I ponder on that quite a lot."

One photographer recalled a moment when they saw a boat landing at Dungeness and feared a woman was seriously ill on board.

They said: "I saw a boat coming in, with the RNLI behind them. I'd say 50% were elated to touch soil, to have landed safely.

"I did a frame of one guy holding his hands in the air, elated. But on the same boat I saw a lady who was dragged from the boat and covered in blankets. I ran over at this point and her husband said she's sick.

"I stopped taking photos and I also ran up the beach and flagged Border Force who were coming towards us.

"Border Force are under a lot of pressure, they are run ragged and tired. The RNLI are the same, the crews are tired and frustrated."

Mr Aidan has also witnessed people arriving in need of medical treatment and one day saw a woman arrive holding a two-week-old baby, wrapped in blankets.

Another Kent photographer noted how more and more people are being squashed into the inflatable boats.

They said: "Over the last two years there has been a marked increase in the number boats and also the size of boats, which now can take 80 plus people.

"It make me sad, how desperate must the people be to risk their and their children's lives to make such a perilous crossing."

They added that as well as the activists, some people also offer a far more supportive welcome to asylum seekers: "The welcome they received is very mixed - there are some of the far right activists that shout at the people, there are others who bring food.

"On some occasions it has been quite a circus on the beach, activists, photographers, TV crews.

"It is lovely to see the care that they receive from the RNLI crews, Border Force, etc, especially with the children."

"I used to charge for photos but there are so many photographers and it's quite pointless now.

"I just want to record what is happening, and try to capture the human side of the story and also make sure that we keep talking about what is going on so that no more lives are lost.

"One day I would love to meet the children to see what has become of them in the UK."