Whopping 150,000 small boat migrants crossed Channel to Britain since 2018 – more than population of Blackpool

MORE than 150,000 illegal migrants have now arrived on small boats since 2018 – enough to fill a town the size of Blackpool.

The staggering milestone piles pressure on Sir Keir Starmer, who has vowed to crush the criminal gangs behind the crossings.

On Boxing Day alone, 407 people made the dangerous trip in 10 small boats.

And on Christmas Day, 451 migrants crossed the Channel in 11 overcrowded vessels.

Since 2018, the total number of Channel crossings has now reached 150,243.

The 50,000 mark was passed in June 2022, while 100,000 was passed in August 2023.

The annual number of arrivals stood at just 299 in 2018, before climbing to 1,843 in 2019, 8,466 in 2020, 28,526 in 2021 and a record 45,774 in 2022.

It then fell to 29,437 in 2023.

The cumulative number of arrivals so far in 2024 is currently 35,898: 22 per cent higher than the equivalent figure at this point in 2023 but 22 per cent lower than the total at this stage in 2022.

Senior Tories are now demanding Labour restore the Rwanda plan to stop the crisis from spiralling out of control.

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp blasted: “Small boat crossings are totally unacceptable and must stop. A country has to control its borders. There is no need for these dangerous and illegal journeys – France is a safe country and no one is fleeing persecution in Calais.

“It’s clear a new approach is needed. The Rwanda deterrent – where anyone crossing would rapidly be removed to Rwanda – would have stopped this. It was a terrible mistake for Labour to cancel Rwanda before it even started. That’s why crossing are up 20 per cent since Labour came in.

“The Government must urgently restore a Rwanda style removals deterrent.”

Reform UK Deputy Leader Richard Tice also ripped into Labour, insisting “it’s only getting worse” under them.

He added: “It’s quite clear that far from smashing the gangs, it’s only getting worse under Labour.

“Labour need to start putting British people first and not allowing our borders to be at the whim of the weather.

“Reform UK are clear, our plan is to pick up and return the boats to France as allowed under UN Convention of Law at Sea.

“This will stop boats within weeks but requires leadership not cowardice.”

Those who arrived in Dover on December 25 broke a period of more than a week of no crossings.

Small boat arrivals tend to spike later in the year, as calmer weather in summer and autumn makes the Channel easier to cross.

Days with the perfect mix of low winds and smooth waves, dubbed “red days,” hit a record this autumn.

Between October 11 and November 10, a staggering 26 out of 31 days were prime for crossings, the highest in a single month.