As migrants arrive on British shores, we can’t police our coastlines alone – that’s why we must stay in the EU

Kent County Council has seen a 30 per cent rise in the number of unaccompanied migrants claiming asylum

This summer, migrants may begin arriving in Britain via our vast coastline, such as at the beach town of Broadstairs in Kent

We are gripped by the politics of fear. The scaremongering began in January when a US academic reckoned the current wave of immigration would lead to social problems if men outnumbered women and upset the “normal balance” between the sexes in Europe.

Official statistics show that two thirds of migrants registered in Greece and Italy in 2015 were male, one fifth were under 18, and half had travelled alone. Of the young, 90 per cent were boys, and the images of boat-people we see on the news each day show men vastly outnumbering women and babies. Dr Valerie Hudson, of the University of Texas, asserted that crime increases and rape and sexual harassment are more common in places where men outnumber women.

She raised concerns for Sweden, which has accepted more immigrants per capita of the population than any other European country – there are now 123 boys to every 100 girls aged 17.

Certainly, some migrants find it hard to adapt to western culture. On New Year’s Eve in Cologne, a group of male immigrants were accused of sexually assaulting women, and 100 complaints were made to the police.

The dubious thesis that single men arriving in unfamiliar environments will lead to women feeling vulnerable and at risk on their own streets is just one of many current fearful scenarios. What’s the reality?

By last January, Kent County Council had seen a 30 per cent rise in the number of unaccompanied migrants (mostly boys) claiming asylum. There are now more than 1,500 in care – a financial burden, but hardly a number likely to cause social unrest.

But facts like these don’t stop the Brexiteers from unrolling a new doom-laden scenario every day. Those who want us to stay in Europe do exactly the same, citing economic disaster. No wonder voters stumble around in a fog.

I know one thing: fear never brought out the best in any society. I write this in Kent, looking onto a windy, muddy shore, empty in the unseasonal weather. Out in the distance, a lone wind-surfer battles the waves. Or maybe he’s a refugee, seeking a safe landing spot?

It’s ironic that a boat-load of Albanians were discovered off Dymchurch last week, because the coast of Kent has been a prime landing spot for smuggled goods, from people to booze to fags to drugs, ever since Dickens’ days. I’ve walked miles in his footsteps, from the bleak muddy foreshore of Egypt Bay facing Canvey Island, around the River Swale, past Reculver and revitalised Margate, to Broadstairs, Ramsgate and Deal. En route, there are plenty of abandoned skiffs and rotting dinghies; the other day I spotted an abandoned caravan floating on a raft near Conyer.

Kent has long been the destination for thousands of perfectly legal EEA (European Economic Area) migrants. Without them, our fruit and vegetable farms would go bust. Polytunnels filled with strawberries would rot and asparagus would sit in the ground. Bagged salads, exotic leaves and herbs all come from Kent – packed using EU labourers, for a wage local workers shun.

Every day, cheery groups of migrant workers walk past my window en route to the supermarkets and pubs in Whitstable. They seek bargains in Tesco, arriving in minibuses from the mobile homes and campsites where they live for months in all weathers.

With the EU vote looming, Kent has been targeted by the Brexiteers, and locals are now in full paranoia mode. A group of 17 African asylum seekers were found in a lorry park on an industrial estate in Ashford this week, and there are reports of drivers discovering stowaways in car boots on the M20 and the A2.

The notion that we can “hold back” the unprecedented wave of economic migrants and asylum seekers with a points-based immigration system, barbed wire or a few patrol boats is simplistic. The boat that pitched up in Dymchurch to pick up the 19 Albanians, when their original vessel started to sink, was bought for just £3,000 on eBay, and there are plenty of people who will pick up desperate migrants and charge them £8,000 each for the trip.

The police disbanded its dedicated marine unit in 2014, and we currently have just three Border force vessels patrolling 7,700 miles of British coastline. The English Channel is the busiest shipping route in the world, and crossing in a small craft is hazardous. But the route is short, compared to 190 miles from Africa to Italy.

As the summer progresses, people living near the Kent, Essex and Sussex coast can expect to see more abandoned boats with discarded lifejackets on board. The only way to control immigration is by combining forces with other countries within the EU and deciding on a common strategy. Going it alone is utterly doomed.

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