Thirteen migrants were intercepted in the English Channel at the weekend by the Border Force.
The men, women and children were in a small boat heading towards the British coast before they were picked up by a Border Force cutter and taken to St Margaret’s Bay in Kent.
The migrants said they were from Iran, Egypt and Iraq. They were medically assessed and transferred to immigration officials for interview, the British Home Office said.
In September, the largest number of migrants to be intercepted in the Channel was recorded when 86 men, women and children were picked up in five incidents.
Maritime authorities in northern France say almost 1,500 migrants tried to reach the UK by sea between January and August, a marked increase on the 586 who attempted the crossing in all of 2018.
On October 15, Britain and France agreed on a plan to increase efforts to prevent migrants from trying to cross the Channel in small boats, after two bodies washed up on a French beach.
