Record 230 people cross Channel in one small boat

A small boat has crossed the English Channel carrying 230 people, the largest number to make the journey in a single vessel.

It breaks the previous record set in July, when 165 people made the crossing on a single vessel .

A picture taken off the coast of northern France showed the inflatable boat was so full many passengers had to dangle their legs in the water as it entered the busy shipping route.

A Home Office spokesperson said this latest incident demonstrated the "reckless and dangerous tactics employed by criminal gangs... who continue to put lives at risk by cramming ever greater numbers of people onto unseaworthy vessels".

There have been signs that smugglers are putting more and more people into each boat. In 2018, there was an average of seven people per boat - but last year, that had risen to 62.

On Tuesday, 173 migrants had to be rescued from a single boat, which caught fire.

However, the number of crossings overall is on course to be lower this year.

So far, the number of migrants who have made the crossing is down by 43%. The number of boats that have successfully crossed is down by 49%.