This was the scene in France on Sunday as the latest group of migrants to attempt to cross the English Channel waded out to an inflatable boat.
The crowd of mainly young men clambered onto the small dinghy at Gravelines beach – many risking the trip without life jackets – as gendarmes looked on but made no effort to stop them.
More than 500 migrants arrived in the UK on small boats over just three days last week, beginning on Wednesday when 262 made crossings on overloaded vessels.
That brought the total for the year so far to 3,979 – although the figure is now believed to have surpassed 4,000 as a Border Force vessel was spotted offloading more than 50 people in Dover harbour on Sunday.
On Friday, Britain’s border chief Martin Hewitt stood down having failed to curb the number of illegal migrants making their way to the UK.
Heavy winds meant no one successfully made the 21-mile crossing on Saturday but French and British authorities are bracing themselves for a fresh onslaught this week as conditions improve.
More than 67,000 have crossed the Channel on small boats since Sir Keir Starmer became Prime Minister 20 months ago, promising to ‘smash’ the gangs that organise the journeys.
In comparison, 65,784 small-boat migrants arrived in the UK under his Tory predecessor Boris Johnson over a 39-month period.
This was the scene in France as the gendarmes looked on
More than 67,000 have crossed the Channel on small boats since Sir Keir Starmer became Prime Minister
Border Security commander Mr Hewitt stood down last week after just 18 months in the job.
But Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: ‘The Government’s complete failure on small boats isn’t down to Martin Hewitt.
‘It’s because Keir Starmer and [Home Secretary] Shabana Mahmood are too weak to take the necessary action – such as coming out of the European Convention on Human Rights and deporting all illegal immigrants within a week of arrival.’
Sir Keir appointed Mr Hewitt, a former senior police officer, shortly after becoming Prime Minister in 2024 but crossings have continued at sky-high levels since.
His tenure also saw the second-highest annual total of people crossing the Channel, with 41,472 people arriving last year.
Meanwhile, 78 migrants were rescued by the French coastguard on Saturday after the engine of their small boat broke down while attempting to travel to the UK from Belgium.
The Home Office was contacted for comment.
