Large numbers of migrants continue trying to cross the Channel despite the coronavirus pandemic. Many were detained in the week before Easter and over the Easter weekend according to reports from the Border Force, in Hastings or areas between Rye and Hastings – as well as along the Channel coast to Dover.
The coastguard, Border Force officers, Sussex Police and others were all involved in incidents on Wednesday last week, one involving 23 migrants in Hastings, and over the Easter weekend, as reported by the BBC, involving much larger numbers.
The migrants travelled over in small boats carrying between four and 16 or more people and in total, reports suggested over 100 migrants had been detained in the past 10 days. Due to the lockdown and the presence of very few – if any – people on local beaches, migrant arrivals have become more obvious to spot.
Image Credits: Brian Burnell https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HMRC_Vigilant_BB.jpg https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/, Carol Macdonald .