Man tells LBC he 'locks his shed' because he is worried about influx of migrants in Kent
7 September 2021, 16:27 | Updated: 7 September 2021, 16:31
Dungeness resident worries over migrants crossing channel
A resident of Dungeness in Kent has told LBC he is so worried about the influx of migrants in his home town that he has to "lock his shed".
Paul Slavin said finding migrants in their sheds or houses was a "fear" of many residents of the coastal hamlet.
"We're all concerned, we have to lock up things like the sheds and things like that, migrants have been found in sheds, in houses, it's a fear," said Mr Slavin.
"And of course you've got to think of the possibility of carrying Covid.
He went on: "The RNLI, they've got a job to do.
"People that are in the channel, the busiest shipping lane in the world, and they're trying to cross.
"[The RNLI] have got a job to do... Who's paying for it? Where's the resources?"
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It comes as between 740 and 750 migrants attempted to cross the English channel in small boats on Monday, according to figures from the Home Office.
Dan O’Mahoney, Clandestine Channel Threat Commander, said: "This unacceptable rise in dangerous crossings is being driven by criminal gangs and a surge in illegal migration across Europe.
"We’re determined to target the criminals at every level, so far, we have secured nearly 300 arrests, 65 convictions and prevented more than 10,000 migrant attempts.
"But there is more to do. The Government’s New Plan for Immigration is the only credible way to fix the broken asylum system, breaking the business model of criminal gangs and welcoming people through safe and legal routes."
Read more: Priti Patel threatens to withhold millions from France over record migrant numbers
The Home Secretary Priti Patel called a meeting with Conservative MPs on Monday to discuss the Government’s options about the increased number of migrants making the dangerous journey across the Channel.
According to reports she has threatened to withhold £54m promised to France for stopping migrant Crossings.
The Times newspaper reported Patel blamed the French and said she was prepared to pull the funding promised less than two months ago if they failed to stop three in four crossings by the end of this month.
According to The Sun she said: “We’ve not given them a penny of the money so far and France is going to have to get its act together if it wants to see the cash.
“It’s payment by results and we’ve not seen those results. The money is conditional.”
Sunday was the first time in more than two weeks there have been small boat crossings of the Channel because of prior bad weather, with 158 people, including five children, arriving in Dover from four boats.
