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Around 360 migrants crossed the English Channel in small boats on Saturday, according to reports. They were brought to the Border Force processing centre at Dover Harbour throughout the day. The figure follows 55 crossings recorded the previous day, taking the provisional total for the year so far to almost 6,800.

The crossings are understood to have taken place along a wide stretch of coastline in northern France and Belgium. Smugglers are believed to be launching boats from further afield than usual in an attempt to avoid concentrated patrols.

GB News reported that it counted around 360 migrants arriving at Dover harbour during the day on Saturday.

A senior maritime source also told the TV channel that criminal gangs were using a large area of coastline for launches.

They said: "People smugglers pushed off boats from well into Belgium, all the way down to a beach at Treport, south of the Somme.

"That's almost 100 miles of coastline the criminal gangs are using for launches on the same day.

"It's an obvious effort to avoid the beach patrols, which are normally concentrated around the Dunkirk and Calais areas."

Later on Saturday evening, the Border Security Command vessel Contender was reportedly deployed after a dinghy entered UK waters far south in the Channel.

The small boat was reported to have travelled unescorted in the middle of the Channel, south of Eastbourne in East Sussex, before being monitored by a French fishing vessel.

Contender travelled from its home port in Ramsgate to respond. Sources suggested there were as many as 50 migrants on board the dinghy.

The latest surge in crossings comes just over a week after Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood signed a three-year agreement with France worth £662 million aimed at strengthening beach patrols.

Under the deal, the number of French officers assigned to coastal patrol duties is expected to rise from around 700 to 1,100.

The Home Office said the arrangement would see officers "targeting and detaining" migrants on the French coast to prevent departures.

The UK will provide £501 million to support five police units and enforcement activity, with a further £160 million dependent on the success of new measures. If those efforts fail, the additional funding will stop after a year.

In a statement, Sir Keir Starmer said: "Our work with the French has already stopped tens of thousands of crossings and this government has deported or returned nearly 60,000 people with no right to be here.

"This historic agreement means we can go further: ramping up intelligence, surveillance and boots on the ground to protect Britain's borders."

However, Belgium has also emerged as a more regular launch point in recent weeks, with more than 20 boats reported to have left West Flanders beaches in April.

The Express has contacted the Home Office for a comment.