Migrant father cradles his baby as he walks with his young family under White Cliffs of Dover

Cradling his baby tightly, this is the moment a father leads his migrant family up the White Cliffs of Dover after making the perilous Channel crossing – before a fuming local demanded they ‘p*** off home’.

They are among dozens of migrants who arrived on Kent’s beaches in dinghies today amid a surge in boat crossings this summer.

Wearing a face-mask, puffer jacket and Adidas tracksuit, the male was this morning photographed walking with a woman and two children along the coastal path at Kingsdown Beach in Deal.

The family, along with others in their landing party, was quickly intercepted by police upon reaching a nearby country lane, where they were also confronted by an outburst from an angry woman.

Gesturing with her finger, Sue Cook shouted at the group of migrants to ‘p*** off home’, before being told to mind her language by an officer.

But the visibly frustrated woman hit back: ‘No, No, I don’t care… every time I come here this happens,’ pointing to the police car blocking her route to work.

Coastal communities in the South East are growing increasingly exasperated at the amount of boats coming from France in the past few months. 

Border Force detained 168 migrants in 12 separate incidents yesterday, pushing the total number of people intercepted this year to 6,338. 

The Home Office is yet to release today’s figures, but it is understood to be lower than the amount of people detained yesterday.

The young family were accompanied on Kingsdown Beach by fellow travellers. One man in a striped top was pictured giving the camera a thumbs up as he strolls under the famous chalk cliffs. 

Dover’s Tory MP Natalie Elphicke said on Friday: ‘I fully appreciate the strength of feeling about the continued small boats crossings. 

‘With around 6,000 illegal entrants this year alone, it is entirely unacceptable. I am working hard on this, and the Government has outlined a number of steps that it is taking to tackle this issue.’

Ministers are grappling with a record number of boat crossings this summer, with Priti Patel vowing to crack down on the journeys.

But she is locked in a war of words with her French counterparts who are demanding millions from the British government to pay for their patrol vessels.

French authorities are intercepting some of the boats, and yesterday prevented seven dinghies carrying 54 people from crossing.

Yet many are still slipping through their line, including one dinghy yesterday carrying around 12 men which washed up on Kingsdown Beach.

A bemused angler could be seen watching the incident from the shore as the masked group of men beached the boat and ran off. 

So far in September, 1,313 migrants have arrived. That includes a single-day record of 416 on 28 boats on September 2. 

Under plans being drawn up by the Home Office, migrants who have crossed the Channel in small boats are to be housed in military barracks while their asylum claims are processed.

Dan O’Mahoney, Clandestine Channel Threat Commander, said today (TUES): ‘These crossings are facilitated by callous criminals who risk people’s lives for money. 

‘We are working with our French counterparts to make this route completely unviable and continue to crack down on the criminal gangs responsible – making 50 arrests so far this year.

‘These migrants are leaving France which is a safe country, where those seeking refuge can and should claim asylum, rather than attempting these perilous crossings to the UK. 

‘We continue to return those who do not have a legitimate asylum claim despite barriers to removals under the Dublin Regulations and legal challenges, and more flights are planned in the upcoming weeks.’