Asylum seekers seen landing at Kingsdown beach near Deal
16:13, 19 July 2021
updated: 18:12, 19 July 2021
Stunned sunbathers found asylum seekers landing on a beach in front of them.
It is estimated that about 30 people arrived in one dinghy at Kingsdown at about 11am today.
A local man photographed the moment they landed ashore and moved up the beach towards the area's cliffs.
They were also noticeable because they wore coats on a hot and sunny day on the beach.
But it would always be far colder mid-Channel, particularly for those in an open vessel.
A woman who lives locally said: "We heard that there were about 30 including a couple of kids aged four to five.
"All were wearing coats in this heat.
"They got out of the boat and ran up the staired footpath onto the cliffs."
The dinghy was left behind on the beach and was retrieved later by Border Force officials.
Police were called and a number of those who landed were seen by villagers rounded up in nearby North Road.
The incident has happened on the day the government's Nationality and Borders Bill began its second reading in Parliament.
One of its measures is to remove those who enter the UK illegally after they travelled through a safe country where they could have claimed asylum.
Those who sail in on dinghies nearly always come from France.
Asylum seekers ending up on the British side of the English Channel are usually picked up by the Border Force and brought to Dover for interview and processing.
Those who have made it to beaches by themselves have also landed in areas such as Romney Marsh.
Early this month it was reported that nearly 6,000 people reached the UK in the first half of this year.
There has been months of controversy over a number of those arriving being kept in the former Napier Barracks in Folkestone.
KentOnline has contacted the Home Office to confirm full details of what happened at Kingsdown today.
