Border Force lacks the resources to deal with an increasing number of migrants coming to Britain illegally on yachts, motorboats and trawlers, officials have warned.
Growing numbers of migrants are entering the country irregularly by private vessels rather than aboard small boats, a borders trade union said.
Lucy Moreton, of the ISU union which represents Border Force staff, said: ‘What we are seeing more of now is small yachts being used to transport people.
‘They can start from the Brittany coast in France and then sail into one of the small ports around the UK or get dropped off in the water.’
The Daily Mail reported last week how a £70,000 six-berth yacht, Tacoma, was hired at a French marina by a man who claimed to be Austrian.
