Migrant and his dog rescued from adrift Channel dinghy

A migrant and his small dog adrift in a rubber dinghy in the English Channel have been rescued by the Coastguard.
The man, who gave his name as Barry and is thought to be an Afghan, was rescued off the East Sussex coast on Wednesday night after a red flare was spotted at 6.30pm.
Emergency services launched a large-scale operation and brought him and his dog ashore at 7.30pm.
The man was heard telling rescuers he found the dog, which he called Bella, apparently a Lancashire Heeler, in a migrant camp in France.
It is believed they had been drifting for three days in the tiny dinghy after the engine failed.
A spokesman for the Coastguard said: 'HM Coastguard has responded to reports of a person in the water in waters between Brighton Marina and Pier.
'A rescue helicopter was sent, alongside lifeboats from Shoreham and Brighton, and Coastguard rescue teams from Shoreham and Newhaven.
'A man was located safe and well in a vessel that had reportedly experienced engine issues.'
A spokesman for Sussex Police said: 'Police assisted HM Coastguard following a report of a man in a boat off the coast of Brighton on Wednesday.
'The man and a dog were safely brought to shore and passed to Border Force officials.'
The latest Channel crossing incident comes after Sir Keir Starmer admitted that the small-boats crisis was getting worse, and ahead of an expected surge in crossings due to warmer weather.
The number of people arriving on small boats after crossing the Channel is more than 22 per cent higher so far this year than it was by this time in 2024.
From the beginning of January until June 14, 16,317 migrants crossed to the UK. Last year, 13,489 had made the journey by the end of June.
On Monday, another 228 people crossed in four boats, according to the latest Home Office figures.
A further 134 people had managed to reach the UK on Saturday, in two small boats. On Friday, more than 900 migrants crossed in 14 boats – the single largest number for several weeks.
Last Thursday, 52 reached the UK coast in one boat, and the day before 400 had made it across in six small boats.

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