A family of seven have been found close to the Kent coastline after an empty dinghy was seen floating in the Channel.
Border Force officials were alerted at 4.20am after the dinghy was seen floating a few miles from the Kent coast in Kingsdown.
The Home Office confirmed that the mother, father and five children had been transferred to immigration officials for interview.
A spokesperson for the Home Office said: “Border Force are confident the vessel was used for a migrant crossing.
"Since the Home Secretary declared a major incident in December we have tripled the number of cutters operating in the Channel, agreed a joint action plan with France and increased activity out of the Joint Coordination and Information Centre in Calais.”
Less than a week ago, a boat carrying 34 migrants was intercepted by Border Force officials off the coast of Dover.
The group included men, women and children. They were transferred to immigration officials for an interview.
According to the Home Office, the number of people attempting to cross the Channel went down from roughly 250 in December to 90 in January, with about half of the January attempts being intercepted in France before reaching British waters.
Additional reporting by PA.
