Baby among latest migrants to make English Channel crossing

Dozens of people landed in Britain on Monday despite freezing conditions

 A group of people including young children are brought into Dover, Kent, by Border Force officers following a small boat incident in the Channel. PA

A baby without socks and shoes was one of five child migrants to land on the Kent coast on Monday morning.

Dozens of people are believed to have braved the freezing conditions to cross the English Channel, evading UK and French police patrols bolstered by a recent £28 million ($37.5m) agreement.

Kent County Council is now accepting unaccompanied migrant children for the first time in four months.

The party was taken into the port of Dover on a single Border Force boat.

Some of the migrants were swaddled in blankets and lifejackets to protect them from the icy temperatures, and the bare-footed baby had to be carried ashore.

Scores of migrants have defied UK Home Secretary Priti Patel's attempts to make the route "unviable" and have crossed the Channel in record numbers in 2020.

The UK-French deal struck in November to double patrol numbers has had little apparent effect.

And although Kent has reversed its decision not to accept unaccompanied child migrants, its council has warned that a long-term solution must be found to stop services becoming overwhelmed again.

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