A migrant “fleeing British police” tried to cross the English Channel in a kayak to France.
The refugee, believed to be from Ukraine, was first spotted off the British coast by a member of the public, prompting a search by a Dover lifeboat.
When the man reached the middle of the Channel, he was picked up by the crew of a research vessel in French waters. Telegraph report.
This comes after a dangerously overcrowded boat with 60 migrants on board nearly sank in the Canal last week.
On Sunday, the migrant was transferred to Calais. Video footage documents the moment when the French and British coastguards tried to find out his intentions.
Pictured: Migrants in a small boat cross the English Channel on August 30.
Pictured: A group of people believed to be migrants are taken to Dover, Kent, by Border Force on August 21.
A Dover coastguard said the man “was heading fairly directly towards our boat so I assume he is looking for help.”
Maritime sources said the man was on the run from police in the UK, but did not specify what crime he was suspected of.
Last week it was revealed that 614 migrants crossed the English Channel, bringing the total number of crossings to 20,433 so far this year.
The milestone was reached after 10 boats were intercepted in the Strait of Dover. An average of 61 people per inflatable boat made the dangerous crossing.
The number of arrivals crossing the Channel is 3 percent higher than at the same time in 2023 (19,801) and 18 percent lower than in 2022 (25,065), according to analysis of government data.
This is the second highest number of arrivals in a single day since the general election, after the 703 arrivals on August 11.
The highest number recorded on any day so far this year was 882 on June 18.
A Home Office spokesman said: “We all want to see an end to dangerous small boat crossings, which are undermining border security and putting lives at risk.
‘The new Government is taking steps to strengthen our border security, establishing a new Border Security Command which will bring together our intelligence and law enforcement agencies, equipped with new anti-terrorist-style powers and hundreds of people stationed in the UK and abroad, to crush the criminal smuggling gangs who make millions in profits.’
This comes after a migrant woman was reported dead after allegedly being thrown overboard in the Canal last week on Tuesday.
