A RECORD number of refugees fleeing desperate conditions in northern France were rescued this morning in the English Channel.

Four Border Force vessels and two lifeboats intercepted at least seven small boats carrying around 100 migrants. 

The rescue follows a number of large-scale crossing attempts this year with around 90 people rescued in a single day in February, the previous record. 

Human rights campaigners have issued repeated warnings of a “humanitarian disaster” unfolding in northern France where over 1,000 refugees are stranded with little support following an exodus of NGOs. 

Care4Calais said that it was “little wonder” that people are making the perilous crossing given the “awful” conditions. 

“Coronavirus has made a bad situation life-threateningly worse,” the group’s founder Clare Moseley said. 
 
“People are squeezed into tiny areas, they can’t social distance, and the support they relied on for survival is drastically reduced.

“The French travel ban makes it impossible for them to leave, but still they face forced, sometimes violent evictions almost every day.”

This year has seen a surge in the number of people attempting to cross the channel with 1,200 picked up by Border Force in the past four months. 

The Home Office has responded to the surge by seeking assurances from France on its commitment to carry out more returns of migrants making the crossing in a bid to deter others from doing it. 

Minister for Immigration Compliance and the Courts Chris Philp said that the department was working “night and day” to stop criminal gangs behind the boat crossings.

However, Ms Moseley said that migrants are heading for Britain because they “want to be safe.” 

She added: “Now more than ever, we need to give them a safe and humane way to have their requests for asylum fairly heard, that’s the way to end chaotic and dangerous channel crossings once and for all.”