Multiple lifeboats have been called out to help with chaotic scenes in the English Channel, as more than 500 small boat migrants attempt to cross to the UK.
Lifeboats from Dover, Ramsgate, Walmer and Dungeness have all been called in to support Border Force vessels, which have been overwhelmed by the number of migrant boats currently making the crossing.
Every French border patrol vessel in the region, along with a number of French lifeboats are currently escorting multiple migrant dinghies towards the UK.
One senior maritime security source told GB News: "The situation out there is complete chaos.
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|Multiple lifeboats have been called out to help with chaotic scenes in the English Channel, as more than 500 small boat migrants attempt to cross to the UK
"It's clear yet again, Border Force just can't cope with the numbers attempting to cross today.
"They've had to call on very significant resources from the lifeboat service.
"The RNLI get a lot of flak for responding to migrant boats, but it's hard to see what else they can reasonably do.
"These boats are completely overloaded. And if Border Force don't have the resources to respond, someone has to."
If those currently in the Channel make it to UK waters, it will take the number of migrants who have made the illegal crossing so far this year beyond 25,000.
It is another grim milestone for the Government and a major blow for the Prime Minister, who told President Donald Trump just this week that UK authorities were smashing the gangs.
For the past week, weather conditions in the Channel have been changeable.
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|A group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, from a Border Force vessel following a small boat incident in the Channel on Sunday
But despite some choppy conditions, around 1,000 migrants have made the illegal journey in seven straight days.
Most days saw relatively modest numbers, but an improvement in conditions overnight has paved the way for this huge surge in crossings today.
Border Force personnel are standing by at Dover harbour to prevent a major log-jam at the migrant processing centre there, as the first of the Border Force vessels and lifeboats head back to the Kent port with hundreds of migrants.