'Iranian' men and children halted as they arrive in Dover 'on stolen fishing boat'

• Video report by ITV News Correspondent Martha Fairlie

Three children were among a group of 17 people stopped while trying to make their way into England on board a fishing boat, hours after a report identified staffing issues at major checkpoints.

The Home Office confirmed the group, who claimed to Iranian, were stopped on Tuesday morning at Dover Harbour.

Reports in France claimed the vessel was stolen from Boulogne-Sur-Mer on the north coast.

A Home Office spokesman said: "Border Force attended a report of a fishing vessel at Dover Harbour this morning, Tuesday November 13, and boarded it with assistance from Dover Harbour Authorities and HM Coastguard.

"Fourteen men and three minors, all of whom presented themselves as Iranian, were found on board.

"The Home Office will progress their cases in accordance with the immigration rules and the three minors have been referred to social services."

The incident comes just hours after a major report was published outlining how under-staffed border checkpoints are being exploited by those seeking to enter the country illegally.

Publishing the report, chief inspector of borders and immigration, David Bolt, said: "I recognise that Border Force is dealing with many challenges, not just along the south coast but nationally, and that its job is not made any easier by having to prepare for the UK's exit from the EU without clarity as yet about what exactly this will involve.

"However, it is difficult to escape the impression that Border Force believes it knows best and will make changes only on its own terms and at its own pace."

Dover was among the locations included in the report.

It found the number of clandestine detections at south coast ports fell from 1,119 in 2016-17 to 882 in 2017-18, including a drop from 792 to 503 at Dover.

This decrease was attributed to "upstream activity", including improved security measures and the clearance of migrant camps in France.

In September, the captain of a charter fishing boat told how he rescued four Iranian asylum seekers when their inflatable dinghy got into trouble off the coast of Dover.

Matt Coker, 37, said he spotted the small boat, which was half full of water, three miles off the Goodwin Sands in Kent as he took a group out on a day trip.

The three "distressed" men and one woman on board tied a red T-shirt to an oar as they tried to attract his attention before making a leap for the bigger vessel, he said.

Charlie Elphicke, Conservative MP for Dover and Deal, urged the Home Office to take action at its checkpoints.

He wrote on Twitter: "This brazen attempt to break into Britain shows yet again the extreme lengths these desperate people will go to.

"This is a growing problem and the Home Office must not turn a blind eye."