At least 151 migrants land on Kent beaches

At least 151 migrants on 15 boats have arrived on the Kent coast after crossing the English Channel, the Home Office said.

One boat reportedly carrying 12 migrants, was picked up by Border Force patrols at about 10:00 BST and brought to shore at Dover.

A second boat carrying 14 migrants landed at Kingsdown shortly after.

It is understood there were also landings at Deal and Folkestone although they have not been confirmed.

The Coastguard confirmed it was dealing with "a number" of incidents.

It was announced earlier the Home Office has sent a formal request to defence chiefs asking for help to deal with migrants attempting to cross the English Channel.

The Home Office said it was possible the Royal Navy could be brought in to patrol the migrant traffic.

Dover and Deal MP Natalie Elphicke said: "We've gone into this record number of people crossing over this year all options need to be on the table."

On Friday a record number of unaccompanied migrant children arrived in the UK.

The 23 youths were taken into the care of Kent County Council, on top of the 70 who arrived in July.

Those figures do not include those travelling with their families, and the Home Office has refused to confirm the number of children arriving.

Since January 2019 at least 5,800 people have entered the UK on small boats, and about 155 have been returned to Europe.

The Home Office blamed current regulations - which determine where an asylum-seeker's claim is heard - for the comparatively low number of people to have been returned to Europe.

On Friday Home Secretary Priti Patel said the boats needed to be prevented from leaving France.

A record number of 235 people made the crossing in 17 vessels on Thursday. A total of 146 people arrived on Friday on 17 boats.

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