Channel crossings soar to 1,300 in weekend of chaos as Border Force braces for hundreds more in coming days

The number illegal immigrants who have crossed the English Channel since Friday has now reached 1,300, GB News can exclusively reveal.

Today alone, 600 made the crossing in multiple boats.

Another migrant dinghy is still en route, and authorities in the UK and France are preparing for hundreds more to cross tomorrow.

It is an astonishing surge in migrant crossings over such a short period, at a time of year when the number of illegal dinghy crossings would normally slow down significantly.

A total of 91 illegals arrived on Friday.

That was followed by 164 on Saturday and a further 418 on Sunday.

Sunday's total included 146 migrants who arrived in UK waters near the Isle of Wight after setting off in a mega dinghy in western Normandy.

Their arrival into Gosport in Hampshire sparked hundreds of angry protesters to attempt to block roads in and around the port last night.

Today alone, 600 illegal migrants have crossed into UK waters.

Another dinghy load of at least 60 others is still in French waters heading towards the UK.

GB News's Kent producer said weather conditions overnight tonight and throughout tomorrow will remain good, with hundreds more expected to attempt the crossing throughout Tuesday.

These latest arrivals take the total number who have made the illegal crossing so far this year to around 20,400.

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS

• Gosport MP 'given absolutely no forewarning' from Labour of overnight migrant swarm
• Patrick Christys pulls back curtain on Calais migrant camp attack - 'LAWLESS, morally devoid'
• Jeremy Clarkson reveals ‘dream’ to start second pub and why Piddington might be an ideal spot for it

Two men died this morning while attempting a small boat crossing.

Authorities renewed pleas not to risk the journey but the surge in arrivals suggests such calls have fallen on deaf ears.

French authorities said the men, one thought to be in his 30s and the other in his 40s, died after leaving the coast at Berck on Sunday night.

Three other people among the 90 on board the vessel also needed treatment after prolonged contact with fuel in the boat, the local maritime prefecture said.

According to a translation of the prefecture’s statement, a separate incident on Sunday morning saw a boat containing around 80 migrants run aground at Camiers.

Most of the migrants waded back to the beach but 11 people were rescued suffering from hypothermia.

The Maritime Prefecture of the English Channel and the North Sea warned that the “flimsy inflatable boats used for such crossings are unsuitable and particularly vulnerable” to the conditions in the busy sea lanes between France and the UK.

“The maritime prefecture therefore calls on anyone planning to cross the Channel illegally to abandon their plan, regardless of the apparent weather and navigation conditions,” the statement said.

A spokesman for the Pas-de-Calais prefecture said: “An investigation has been opened by the Boulogne-sur-Mer public prosecutor’s office to determine the circumstances surrounding the deaths.

“François-Xavier Lauch, Prefect of Pas-de-Calais, thanks all the services involved, particularly the firefighters, for their intervention and commitment during this operation.”