Record 40,000 migrants have crossed the Channel so far this year
12 November 2022, 19:42
The unprecedented number includes 100 migrants taken ashore on Saturday, eyewitnesses and rescuers said.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
More than 40,000 migrants have made the perilous journey across the Channel this year, the highest number since the Border Force began tracking arrivals in 2018.
In 2020, just 8,000 crossed the Channel. Last year, the figure was 28,526.
It comes as the government slashed the number of migrants kept at its controversial Manston processing centre in Kent.
Up to 4,000 were being held at the site at its peak, despite the detention point being designed for 1,600.
Read more UK's deal with France to curb Channel crossings reaches 'final stages' as Sunak meets Macron
Around 100 migrants arrived on Saturday, rescuers and eyewitnesses told the BBC.
The Border Force is expected to make the figure official tomorrow.
Rishi Sunak is said to be finalising a deal with French authorities which would see journeys in small boats reduced.
Video also appeared to show migrants in northern France throwing rocks at local police officers who had slashed dinghies.
