Over 100,000 people now likely to have crossed Channel in small boats since records began New arrivals crossing the English Channel this week have now likely taken the overall number of people who have made the journey in small boats to more than 100,000 since records started in 2018.

(Sky News) The number of people who have crossed the English Channel in small boats in the past five years is now likely to have passed 100,000.

Government figures show that since 2018, when records began, 99,960 people have made the perilous journey from France to the UK as of Tuesday.

With more than 40 people believed to have landed on UK shores on small boats earlier today, it is likely the 100,000 threshold has now been crossed.

The figures show a huge year-on-year surge, with just 299 small boat arrivals in 2018 compared with 28,526 in 2021 and 45,755 in 2022.