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Children with toys carried to safety as migrant crossings resume

The arrivals on Tuesday are anticipated to take the total for the year so far to over 10,000.

07 June 2022

Children clutching teddy bears were carried ashore as the number of migrants who crossed the Channel to the UK is thought to have exceeded 10,000 for the year so far.

A young girl in a woollen hat with a toy tucked into her life jacket, as well as a baby sucking a dummy and holding onto a teddy, were among several children seen as part of a large group arriving in Dover, Kent, on Tuesday.

Crossings resumed after a three-day hiatus, with the latest arrivals likely to have pushed the total for the year to date over 10,000.

Migrant Channel crossing incidents
Children were among a large number of people seen arriving in Dover on Tuesday (Gareth Fuller/PA)

As it stands, 9,988 people have reached the UK after navigating busy shipping lanes from France in small boats such as dinghies since the start of 2022, according to analysis of provisional Government figures by the PA news agency.

The numbers for Tuesdays crossings will not be confirmed until Wednesday, when the Ministry of Defence is expected to publish the latest official data.

A total of 28,526 people made the crossing in 2021, compared with 8,466 in 2020, 1,843 in 2019 and 299 in 2018, according to official figures.

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