Several migrant boats have been spotted off the coast of East Sussex this morning, according to reports.

Border force agents are at Winchelsea Beach dealing with up to eight boats, containing around 30 people.

If confirmed, it will be a ‘record number’ to arrive in one day.

A major incident was declared by Home Secretary Sajid Javid last year because of the numbers of people making the perilous journey from France to the UK.

He set up extra patrols in the English Channel after 138 people arrived in December.

The total number of migrants to arrive in May exceeded that at 140.

On the first day of June, Border force officials are said to have picked up around 30 people who arrived in eight small boats.

Seven boats were intercepted but one managed to land without being picked up.

Responding to reports of the possibility eight boats have arrived, Charlie Elphicke, MP for Dover and Deal, said: ‘If confirmed this would be a record number of boats arriving in a single day.

‘This crisis was meant to have been dealt with at Christmas, yet numbers continue to rise. It looks set to surge to record levels through the summer.

‘The Home Office needs to get a grip on this crisis.

‘This is about much more than simply border security. It is about the exploitation of vulnerable people by criminal trafficking gangs – gangs that Britain and France must work together to catch and bring to justice.

‘These journeys are incredibly dangerous. Overcrowded boats with men, women and children aboard. The risk of tragedy in the middle of the English Channel resulting in loss of life is very real.

This is why the Home Office and France must act now to bring this crisis to an end.’

A spokesman for the Home Office said: ‘Border Force is currently dealing with ongoing small boat incidents off the Kent coast.

‘Further details will be provided once the situation has been resolved.’

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