Heartbreaking image of child shows desperation of migrants trying to reach UK

Migrants gathered along the coast of France to board a small boat in an attempt at crossing the English Channel – a perilous journey that resulted in scores of deaths last year

The heartbreaking image of a child being carried by a man wading through chest-deep water highlights the desperation of migrants in peril as they prepare to cross the English Channel in search of better lives.

The images showed migrants wading out^[1] into the sea near Gravelines, between Calais and Dunkirk, in France, this morning. One powerful picture showed a man chest deep in water carrying a toddler on his shoulders as two women and another presumed migrant waded out into the sea.

Other powerful images showed a group of people gathered along the shore looking out toward a small boat packed full of people as at least three migrants waded out to it as dawn broke^[2]. Men, women and children, all wearing life preservers, were seen standing in the water waiting to board in the hope would make it safely across the Channel.

READ MORE: First small boat migrant sent back to France under ‘one in one out’ agreement^[3]READ MORE: Home Secretary accused of putting ‘vulnerable lives at risk’ over migrant comment^[4]

Despite the perilous journey and the risks associated with it, the group of migrants formed a human chain as they prepared to wade out further into the water before finding a spot for themselves and their dependants on packed vessels.

There were no police seen at the beach as the men, women and at least three children waited for an opportunity to make it on board. The boat, which was carried out to sea from a quiet side street, was then monitored by French coastguard vessels as those who could not join the voyage walked disconsolately back to the sand dunes.

People walking along the seafront stopped to look, including an angry British tourist who said he was “never coming back to France”. “Where are the police? They’re doing nothing,” he said.

According to government data^[5], no migrants or boats have been recorded as having successfully made it to the UK since September 11. The Mirror^[6] has contacted the Home Office for comment.

Today’s shocking images come as the UK announced it had sent a second migrant back to France under its “one in, one out”^[7] policy with the country. The Channel migrant was taken by officials to a plane bound for Paris.

The year-long pilot scheme aims to deter small boat crossings in the Channel. Irregular migration has become a massive political issue in the UK after tens of thousands of people place their trust in smuggling gangs to make it across from France to the Kent coast.

According to the Migration Observatory^[8], based at the University of Oxford, around 37,000 people were detected crossing the channel in small boats in 2024, a 25 per cent increase on the previous year though fewer than in 2022. Tragically, 73 people died trying to make the crossing in 2024, more than all previous years combined.

Most of those who make the crossing claim asylum in the UK once they land. Last year, 99 per cent of migrants applied for asylum or were named as dependent on an application.

Small boat crossings have made up more than 80 per cent of all detected unauthorised arrivals in the past three years, the Migration Observatory said. New Labour Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood^[9] said she would do “whatever it takes” to secure the country’s borders and claimed “last minute attempts to frustrate a removal” were “intolerable.”

The Mirror has contacted Together With Refugees for comment.