Nearly 300 miles of UK coast now targeted by small boats as mega dinghy migrants try to dodge cops on ‘new routes’

32 comments 32 Next NEARLY 300 miles of UK coast is now being targeted by small boats as mega dinghy migrants attempt to dodge cops using new routes. Migrant boat landings over the last month have happened as far west as Cornwall – hundreds of miles away from the traditional crossing point between Dover and Calais. 8 Almost 150 migrants arrived in Britain after a third boat set off from Normandy Credit: PA 8 Advertisement And three of the attempted crossing are understood to have set off from Normandy – meaning migrants face a potentially perilous 70-mile crossing over the English Channel. It marks a change in tactics – with French officials telling The Sun the gangs are now actively looking at different areas to land on the UK coast. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! Email address Please provide a valid email. Your info will be used in accordance with our Privacy Policy You'll now receive top stories, breaking news, and more, straight to your email. A senior Frontier Police officer based in nearby Cherbourg told The Sun: “Utah [in Normandy] is covered in sand dunes and wartime bunkers, so it’s a perfect place to hide the migrants. “The smugglers drop them along the coast late at night, and then dinghies arrive on the beach in the early hours to take them to England . Read more in News FREED TO KILL Lag who served half his sentence stabbed mum to death after being released FIND CONNOR Boy, 15, who seems 'younger than his age' missing for 3 days sparking search 8 Protesters were heard chanting ‘send them back’ as the migrants arrived in Gosport, Hampshire Credit: PA 8 Tensions flared after the migrants arrived as protesters set off flares and pushed back against police “This is more than 400kms (249miles) away from Calais, so well away from all the main police patrols and other security measures. “Utah beach is very quiet and isolated, especially at night, so often we don’t even know they’ve left.” Advertisement Some 150 asylum seekers crossed to the UK from France last night after cramming on a mega dinghy from Normandy in one of the furthest English Channel crossings. Some smaller boats have also begun to land in unusual spots along the south coast, with one coming in to Mylor Harbour in Falmouth, Cornwall, just a week ago. Most read in The Sun THE SUN SAYS Sudden US bomber withdrawal from RAF Fairford should alarm every Brit citizen KEMI BADENOCH No wonder US is pulling bombers from UK – Burnham won’t prioritise defence IRON DOME LADY Britain will build Iron Dome to shoot down enemy missiles says Kemi Badenoch FAIRFORD TWIST RAF Fairford gang may have been 'DECOY' ahead of bigger Iran-backed attack It follows a similar small boat crossing that saw a vessel land undetected in Kent just a few weeks prior. Last night, six people were arrested after reported scuffles with cops as the RNLI brought some 150 migrants into Gosport, Hampshire. It marked the latest in a string of both undetected and large-scale crossings in recent months, with several setting off from Normandy. Advertisement Migrants on mega dinghies and smaller boats have landed across the south coast with the route from Normandy opening after a boat packed with 140 migrants made a first-of-its-kind crossing last month. The initial journey using the new launch point sparked fears new routes may begin to be used by people smugglers. Since the first crossing from Normany took the staggering 70-mile – and potentially treacherous – route, other dinghies have followed suit. 8 The RNLI escorted the migrants into Gosport last night Credit: PA 8 Six people were arrested at the protests amid reported scuffles with police Credit: PA Advertisement Yesterday’s arrival was the third boat in a month to set off from Normandy, a break from the traditional launch point in Gravelines, Calais. Migrants aboard the first mega dinghy from Normandy arrived in Portsmouth in September, with the crossing sparking violent protests. And the second spent some 30 hours at sea before it was rescued after setting off from Normandy and brought in to Dover – a more traditional landing point. A senior Frontier Police officer said: “We find discarded nautical equipment, and other stuff left behind by the smugglers and the migrants themselves, making it clear that they have been in a specific spot in numbers. “Finding them before they set off is the challenge, and given the size of the coast, it’s usually impossible.” Advertisement Around 300 protesters across all ages were contained by a riot police cordon on Haslar Road, near to the harbour in Gosport, yesterday. The latest dinghy to arrive from Normandy was being shadowed by French rescue vessels until it was met by the RNLI boats in English waters, according to ship tracking data. And roughly 20 minutes after the migrants arrived, tensions flared amongst protesters. Red flares were let off as they pushed the line of officers backwards. In scenes of chaos, a fight appeared to break out amid chants of “stop the boats” and “deport the f****** lot”. Advertisement Amid the protests and fears about new routes the provisional total for Channel crossings this year is 19,451. Some 149 migrants were believed to be on board the vessel that arrived yesterday and will be taken to Kent this morning to undergo processing, the Home Office said. Local MP Caroline Dinenage pleaded with the Home Secretary to take the migrants to Dover. She said: “I am making a direct call to the Home Secretary tonight: any illegal boat intercepted in the Channel should be taken directly to Dover by water. “The Home Office proved just two weeks ago that this can be done. Advertisement “Gosport is not a safe or suitable location to disembark small boats. Our transport network is extremely constrained, we have no acute hospital and our emergency services are already under pressure.” The new longer crossings appear to show a change in tactics by people smugglers. More migrants are now seemingly being loaded onto fewer but larger boats and sent across the Channel via longer routes. 8 It marks the latest in a string of migrant vessels arriving in the UK via a new route across the Channel Credit: PA 8 An estimated 150 migrants arrived in the port last night Credit: PA Advertisement The new launch point for the crossings could be an attempt to avoid the increased number of police and gendarmes on the beaches traditionally used for crossings. French officials confirmed that the three-mile stretch of sand in Normandy – known as Utah – was now “the hub” for people smugglers who have relocated from the Calais area. Departure points are often only discovered long after a dinghy has departed, a source told The Sun. The main surveillance centre for Normandy is called CROSS (Regional Operational Centre for Surveillance and Rescue) and is based in the town of Jobourg, overlooking the Channel. The Sun can reveal that it coordinated escorts for a mega-dinghy heading for Gosport – on the western side of Portsmouth Harbour – over the weekend. Advertisement A much wider crossing zone – rather than the narrow, predictable and well supported Dover route – could put major pressure on services. The boats new launch point is almost 200 miles from Calais – where a steady stream of small boats have departed from over the past decade. The journey from Normandy to England is a particularly dangerous one, because of a tidal strait called the Alderney Race (Raz Blanchard in French) which runs for eight nautical miles from the Channel Islands to northern France. It creates some of the strongest currents in Europe, and has caused a huge number of shipwrecks over the centuries. This is one of the main reasons French rescue boats deploy, before escorting migrant dinghies to British waters, and allowing UK vessels to complete the voyage to places such as Portsmouth and Dover. Advertisement They pay the equivalent of up to £1500 for a crossing, but the bigger boats mean that discounts are being made available, down to around £600, according to police sources. Jean-Benoît Albertini, the prefect of the Seine-Maritime, an area of Normandy, said his department had recorded 56 attempted boat departures up until September, compared to 31 for the entire year of 2025. “New migration routes have emerged in recent months,” he said. The number of smugglers arrested and convicted has also risen, increasing from four in 2024 to eight this year – still an extremely low number. Mr Albertini said smugglers were using much bigger boats, and overcrowding them with as many as 230 passengers. Audrey Baconnais-Rosez, another local government officer in Seine-Maritime, said: “The number of attempts to cross the Channel has increased in number, and departure points are getting further and further away from north of France [Calais area]” Advertisement Donna Jones, the Police and Crime Commissioner for Hampshire, said in a post to social media: “This has got to stop. “We need to send a message to these people smugglers that it doesn’t matter where in northern France you cast off these illegal dinghies, bringing people into this country , breaking the law , you will end up in Dover regardless. “So my message today is this, Home Secretary if you or any members of your immigration team are listening we urgently need you to take action.” Jean-Philippe Tanguy, a National Rally MP, said: “Normandy is submerged by illegal immigrants.” A Home Office spokesperson said: “We are doing the hard and necessary work to bear down on small boats crossings, and we’re seeing progress – with the lowest number of summer arrivals since 2020. Advertisement RECOMMENDED STORIES “Smuggling gangs are constantly adapting their tactics, including seeking alternative routes and methods of entry, which is why we continue to evolve our response to stay ahead of them. “Through our joint efforts with the French, increased operations to tackle the supply of small boat equipment and reforms to reduce the incentives bringing migrants across the world, we will continue to be relentless.” 32 comments 32