74 migrants intercepted by Border Force off Kent coast

Up to eight vessels with more than 30 migrants onboard reportedly arrive near Dover

Border Force agents have intercepted a dozens of migrants off the Kent coast as they attempted to cross the English Channel into Britain.

Authorities said some 74 people, including several children, were found on eight vessels on Saturday morning.

Eight men wrapped in blankets next to an inflatable dinghy were spotted on Winchelsea Beach.

Charlie Elphicke, the Conservative MP for Dover and Deal, said that the incident would mark “a record number of boats arriving in a single day”.

Last month, 140 migrants were found trying to cross the Channel. This was the highest number since Sajid Javid, the home secretary, declared a “major incident” in December.

Eight men were seen on Winchelsea Beach after apparently crossing the Channel (Sean Winchelsea/ Twitter) (Sean Winchelsea/Twitter)

Mr Javid said the number of migrants attempting to cross the Channel was “deeply concerning,” and that he was speaking with his counterparts in France about it.

“Those who choose to make this dangerous journey across one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world are putting their lives in grave danger and I will continue to do all I can to stop them,” he said.

"It is an established principle that those in need of protection should claim asylum in the first safe country they reach and since January more than 30 people who arrived illegally in the UK in small boats have been returned to Europe.

"We will continue to seek to return anyone who has entered the UK illegally."

Mr Elphicke added: “This crisis was meant to have been dealt with at Christmas, yet numbers continue to rise”.

“It looks set to surge to record levels through the summer. The Home Office needs to get a grip on this crisis.”

“This is about much more than simply border security. It is about the exploitation of vulnerable people by criminal trafficking gangs – gangs that Britain and France must work together to catch and bring to justice.

“These journeys are also incredibly dangerous. Overcrowded boats with men, women and children aboard. The risk of a tragedy in the middle of the English Channel resulting in loss of life is very real.”

A Home Office spokesperson said: “Border Force is currently dealing with ongoing small boat incidents off the Kent coast.

“Further details will be provided once the situation has been resolved.”

It comes a week after eight migrants were found in a boat heading towards the Kent coast and were taken to immigration centres.

In April, 36 migrants were intercepted by border officials in the English Channel while attempting to reach the UK.

Last year, more than 500 refugees tried to travel to the UK on small vessels with four in five of them attempting the journey in the last three months of the year.