A small boat has crossed the English Channel carrying 230 people, the largest number to make the journey in a single vessel.
It breaks the previous record set in July, when 165 people made the crossing on a single vessel.
The boat arrived in the UK in the early hours of Monday.
A picture taken off the coast of northern France showed the inflatable boat was so full many passengers had to dangle their legs in the water as it entered the busy shipping route.
A Home Office spokesperson said this latest incident demonstrated the “reckless and dangerous tactics employed by criminal gangs… who continue to put lives at risk by cramming ever greater numbers of people onto unseaworthy vessels”.
French rescuers said the 15m (49ft) boat was “buckling” in the water and could have led to a “tragedy”.
The boat was already carrying about 50 people when it was seen heading towards a beach to pick more passengers up, the crew in Berck-sur-Mer added.
The SNMS team, the equivalent of the UK’s RNLI, said about 30 people ended up in the water during the rush to climb onboard.
Part of the group also became cut off by the tide and had to be rescued, a translated statement said.
