Plain-clothed military patrols have been spotted on the Kent coast in a bid to tackle small boat crossings.

High-speed rigid inflatable vessels belonging to military units are reportedly operating in the Channel close to the shoreline to look for vessels which have made it past other Border Force and Royal Navy patrols.

Boats were seen operating out of Dover Harbour yesterday and it is understood the plain-clothed military personnel are working as part of a joint-effort by the government to tackle the high number of crossings being made.

The operations are becoming a routine part of the overall strategy to patrol Kent beaches to deter small boat crossings, according to GB News.

KentOnline has approached the Ministry of Defence for comment.

It comes after the Home Office predicted a "worst-case scenario" of 80,000 crossings taking place this year, nearly double the record number of more than 45,000 in 2022.

The government is already planning to recruit another 100 officers to deal with the number of people trying to make it to the UK on small boats.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Home Secretary Suella Braverman are discussing tougher legislation in a bid to deter would-be asylum seekers arriving on beaches.

They include proposals for the Home Secretary to refuse asylum to those arriving on the small boats and bypassing border controls.

The controversial plan to fly people arriving via these routes to Rwanda while their applications are processed has been put on hold during legal challenges, it was confirmed yesterday.

Immigration minister Robert Jenrick told MPs it was "right" to halt the plan while the court appeals take place but the government hoped to start the flights "as soon as possible" this year.

The number of reported crossings had reduced in the first few weeks of January due to bad weather in the Channel. But officials and rescue teams were seen bringing people wearing life jackets and blankets ashore again on Dover yesterday as crossings resumed.

A gang of people smugglers were jailed in France this week for their roles which saw the death of an Iranian family when a boat capsized in the Channel in October 2021.

The vessel was carrying 20 people when it sunk off the coast of the French port of Dunkirk.

A major search and rescue operation was launched by French authorities but 35-year-old Rasoul Iran-Nejad, his wife Shiva Mohammad Panahi, also aged 35, and their three children Anita, nine, Armin, six, and Artin, 15 months, all died.

Artin's body was discovered off the coast of Norway some two months later.