Number of people crossing Channel in small boats this year passes 20,000

More than 20,000 people have been detected crossing the English Channel in small boats so far this year, government figures show.

Saturday marked the third time the total has topped 600 in one day since the start of 2022, with 607 people detecting crossing the Channel in 14 boats – the equivalent of about 43 people per vessel.

It takes the provisional total for the year to 20,017, a considerable increase on the numbers from last year. By this…