Channel migrants: Six Iranians detained on Kent beach
Lewis MorrisSix Iranian men have been detained on a beach in Kent after crossing the Channel in a dinghy.
Border Force officers found the group with a rigid-hulled inflatable boat on a beach at Kingsdown, near Deal, at 07:30 GMT.
The Home Office said the migrants, now known to be Iranian nationals, had been given a medical assessment and transferred to immigration officials.
More than 220 people have attempted the crossing in small boats since November.
Home Secretary Sajid Javid has returned to the UK after cutting short a family holiday to deal with the rising number of migrant crossings, which he has declared a "major incident".
He has promised to do more to tackle the issue, saying it is of "grave concern" that people are attempting the perilous crossing.
Lewis MorrisThe people found off the Kent coast since November:
- 30 December - Six migrants detained on Kingsdown beach near Deal
- 28 December - Twelve migrants in two separate boats detained off the coast of Dover
- 27 December - Some 23 migrants, including three children, were detained in Kent after crossing the channel in small three boats
- 26 December - Three migrants brought ashore by Border Force
- 25 December - Forty migrants, including two children, crossed the Channel in five boats
- 15 December - Four children are among a group of 11 people rescued off Dover. Eight said they were Iraqi and the other three claimed to be Iranian
- 12 December - Six men found in a dinghy off the coast of Dover
- 11 December - Six people, thought to be from Iran were rescued from a small boat off the Kent coast. A second boat with eight men, all saying they were Iranian were picked up later the same day off Dover
- 4 December - Two men were brought to shore at Dover
- 27 November - An 18-month-old baby was among nine people rescued from a dinghy off Dover
- 23 November - Eight men located in a dinghy off the coast of Dover
- 22 November - Thirteen men and one woman were intercepted in two dinghies off the coast of Dover
- 18 November - Nine suspected migrants were found clambering up rocks in Folkestone after apparently crossing the English Channel in a small boat
- 16 November - Seven suspected migrants were found off Samphire Hoe, near Dover
- 14 November - Nine suspected migrants - seven men, one woman and a toddler - were found off the Kent coast. Another 10 were found near Dover Docks and five men were found several miles of Ramsgate
- 13 November - Fourteen men and three children entered Port of Dover on a French fishing boat believed to be stolen
- 9 November -Seven men were found in the English Channel off Dover
- 3 November - Eight suspected migrants were stopped off the Kent coast and seven others were stopped at Dover Western Docks