Small boat crossings continued on Saturday as the Border Force appeared to seize a yacht after an incident in the Channel.

The Border Force vessel Hurricane was seen towing the small boat into Dover on Saturday before securing it in the harbour.

Crossings tend to be attempted in dinghies, the use of a yacht is unusual.

The vessel also brought an unknown number of migrants into Dover on a day when those attempting the crossing are believed to number in the low hundreds.

Some 1,157 people have been rescued from the Channel since Monday after setting out in small boats, while two have died making the crossing in the same period.

A Border Force vessel tows a yacht in to Dover
The Border Force towed the yacht into Dover after an incident in the Channel (Gareth Fuller/PA)

Another four people died in the Channel in the previous week as a spell of good weather saw the number of crossings increase.

Home Office figures show 413 crossed the Channel in seven small boats on Friday, bringing the total for the year so far to 15,489.

This is about 10% higher than the number of crossings seen by the same point last year and 0.1% more than the number for the same period in 2022, so far the year with the most crossings on record.

A spokesman for the Home Office said: “We all want to see an end to dangerous Channel crossings, which are undermining border security and putting lives at risk.

“The new Government is taking steps to boost our border security, setting up a new Border Security Command which will bring together our intelligence and enforcement agencies, equipped with new counter-terror-style powers and hundreds of personnel stationed in the UK and overseas, to smash the criminal smuggling gangs making millions in profit.”