Small boat crossings of the English Channel to the United Kingdom resumed Saturday after a 28-day pause, the longest break in arrivals in seven years.

Before the weekend, no vessels had reached the English coast for 28 days, according to Home Office figures.

The most recent date on which people arrived in the UK after completing the journey by boat was November 14, marking the longest uninterrupted run since a 48-day gap in late 2018.

Figures for Saturday, when a number of small boats were seen in the Channel, will be released later.

December is traditionally one of the quietest months for Channel crossings, with a combination of low temperatures, poor visibility, less daylight and stormy weather making the journey particularly difficult.

The most arrivals recorded in the month of December is 3,254, in 2024.

This year looks likely to see the second highest annual number of migrants arriving in small boats since data was first reported in 2018.

The all-time high is 45,774 arrivals in 2022.