Man held in Dover after Sudanese woman's body found on French beach

Victim believed to be 21 year old who was trying to cross English Channel

Calais beaches are the last stop before the English Channel for people trying to reach Britain. AFP

A man has been arrested in Britain in connection with the death of a Sudanese woman, believed to have died while trying to cross the English Channel, police said on Wednesday.

The woman’s body was found on a beach near Calais in northern France on Tuesday.

The man, whose details have not been released, was arrested in Dover suspected of piloting a boat which entered UK waters on Tuesday.

French police are heading the investigation with the assistance of their counterparts in British.

The victim is believed to be a 21-year-old woman from Sudan, police said.

“This incident demonstrates the danger posed to those making these crossings,” said Craig Turner, deputy director of the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA).

“Targeting the criminal networks involved is a priority for the NCA and we are working with French partners to identify those responsible for this tragic death."

About 24,000 people have been detected crossing the English Channel in small boats so far this year.

• 

  It is thought the number of migrants who have arrived in the UK since 2018 by crossing the English Channel on small boats now exceeds 100,000. PA

• 

  The milestone adds pressure on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to fulfil his pledge to “stop the boats”. PA

• 

  An aerial view shows rolled-up inflatable dinghies and outboard engines, stored in a Port Authority yard in Dover. AFP

• 

  A group of people thought to be migrants are driven away from Dover. PA

• 

  Migrants are being hosted on the Bibby Stockholm, which is being used as an accommodation barge in Dorset. AFP

• 

  Migrants seeking asylum in the UK have also been housed at Napier Barracks in Folkestone, Kent. PA

• 

  A migrant walks back to his makeshift camp at sunrise after a failed attempt to cross the Channel in Sangatte, near Calais. Reuters

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has promised to “stop the boats”, as one of the priorities of his premiership.

But government plans to deal with high levels of unauthorised migration have stalled.

Its plan to deport some arriving migrants to Rwanda remains tied up in the courts, while attempts to accommodate 500 migrants on the Bibby Stockholm barge off the Dorset coast are on hold after the deadly bacteria Legionella was detected aboard.