It is estimated that around 1,000 migrants crossed into the UK on Thursday as the government warns the number of people departing from France is “unacceptable”.

If officially confirmed, the figure will be the highest daily total of migrant crossings into Britain on record.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “The number of illegal migrants we have seen departing from France today (Thursday) is unacceptable.

“The British public have had enough of seeing people die in the Channel while ruthless criminal gangs profit from their misery and our New Plan for Immigration will fix the broken system which encourages migrants to make this lethal journey.”

The current record for the number of migrants arriving in the UK aboard small boats in a single day is 853, which was set on 3 November.

On Thursday, children wrapped in blankets were helped ashore in Dover, Kent as Border Force responded to a flurry of small boats in the English Channel.

Groups of people were seen arriving at the port aboard lifeboats as well as Border Force’s Hurricane vessel.

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Further along the coast, in Hastings, more people were reportedly seen arriving on a beach after being picked up by the RNLI.

In recent weeks, at least two people have died while trying to attempt the perilous journey and several more have been feared to be lost at sea.

More than 22,300 people have successfully completed the trip this year, according to data compiled by the PA news agency – which is more than double the number for the whole of 2020.

In the last seven days, PA figures show more than 1,200 people gave reached the UK.

In 2019, Home Secretary Priti Patel promised to make migrant crossings an “infrequent phenomenon” by spring 2020 and then pledged in August last year to “make this route unviable”.

Since then, the government has agreed to pay France £54m to increase immigration controls.

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