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The number of migrants arriving in the UK after crossing the English Channel has reached a new record for the first four months of the year.

Some 656 people arrived in 11 small boats on Saturday, taking the total number of people crossing in 2025 so far to 8,064, according to provisional Home Office figures.

Less than half-way through April, this is already higher than the 7,567 people who crossed the Channel over the first four months of last year - a record high at the time.

A Home Office spokesperson said the government has a "serious credible plan to finally restore order to our asylum system", and it will "stop at nothing" to dismantle the business models of people-smuggling gangs.

There were 5,946 arrivals in the first four months of 2023, and then 6,691 in the same period in 2022.

The 656 people who entered the UK on Saturday is the highest number of crossings recorded in a single day this year.

However, the highest number of daily crossings recorded was on 3 September 2022, when 1,305 people were documented to have crossed into the UK via small boats.

In a statement, the French Coastguard said it had rescued 50 people from various boats at sea on Saturday, after some migrants asked for help.

Twenty-eight passengers were taken to Calais, in northern France, from one boat that got into difficulty, and 19 people were rescued on another boat while the rest onboard continued their journey.

Three people from another boat were taken to the quayside in Boulogne-sur-Mer, while others on board refused assistance and continued on their way, it added.