Council warns it has reached max capacity for migrant children and can no longer safely look after anymore while Home Office books 4,000 hotel rooms for asylum seekers after record number of Channel crossings

Kent County Council has reached its capacity to care for asylum-seeking children arriving on its shores with it now looking after 600 of them, its leader said today.

While adult migrants and families landing on Kent's shores are sent to other parts of the country, the council retains responsibility for unaccompanied children. 

It comes as the Home Office booked 4,000 hotel rooms for asylum seekers amid pressure from a surge of cross-Channel migration and the coronavirus pandemic.

Hotels in Hull, Birmingham, Nottingham, Southport and Glasgow have been used amid a shortage of permanent accommodation for newcomers to live while their asylum claims are assessed.

But in Kent, council leader Roger Gough told BBC Radio 4's Today programme this morning: 'We now have some around 600 unaccompanied asylum seeker children in our care. The Government's own suggested level would be around 200, 230.'

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A Border Force vessel brings in migrants found off the coast of Dover Port in Dover on Sunday

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Two migrants sit wearing face masks on Dungeness Beach in Kent on August 12 

He added: 'I am deeply disappointed and concerned that, despite our many efforts to avoid this unthinkable situation, it has been necessary to make this announcement today.

'This is a huge challenge for Kent, but a relatively small challenge to solve nationally, and should have been resolved before now.'

He said the limit had been reached despite efforts to work with the Home Office and other local authorities.

Mr Gough warned on August 12 the council was just 'days away' from reaching capacity, with about 420 unaccompanied migrant children arriving in Kent this year and more than 100 expected in August - a monthly figure not seen since the last major migrant crisis in 2015.

Yesterday, Mr Gough said: 'The stark reality today is that, despite my conversations with the Home Office alerting them that Kent expected to reach safe capacity to meet its statutory duty of care this weekend, 13 new arrivals in the last 2 days has now tipped the balance and the council simply cannot safely accommodate any more new arrivals at this time.' 

Unaccompanied children arriving in Kent remained in the council's care system 'for quite a number of years', Mr Gough said last week.

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Home Office chiefs have also apologised for an 'error' after Nigel Farage was filmed visiting a hotel housing migrants in Priti Patel's constituency 

This puts additional pressure on the council's wider children's social services, who are also responsible for looking after young people local to Kent, he added.

More than 4,000 migrants have made it into the UK so far this year after completing the voyage across the English Channel, with at least 597 arriving between Thursday and Sunday 

A Home Office spokesman told MailOnline today: 'This is an unprecedented situation and we have been working incredibly closely with Kent County Council to urgently address their concerns. 

'We continue to provide Kent County Council with a high level of support, such as significantly increasing funding and reducing pressure on their services through a national transfer scheme. 

'We are also providing extra support with children's services and we continue to work across the local government network on their provision for unaccompanied minors.'

Meanwhile the Home Office has booked thousands of hotel rooms across Britain for asylum seekers.

Companies who provide accommodation for migrants had also been permitted to find rooms in places that were not part of the scheme that oversees where the newcomers are dispersed across Britain.

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The Rivehall Hotel is a hotel in Witham, Essex, which has a three out of five star rating on both Google and TripAdvisor

The number of rooms occupied by asylum seekers is not known but it is understood to be thousands, The Times reports.    

Some were housed in the Bell Hotel in Epping Forest, Essex, where the council sent out a 'myth-busting' leaflet to quell 'unfounded rumours' that have 'unnecessarily alarmed' residents.

Home Office chiefs have also apologised for an 'error' after Nigel Farage was filmed visiting a hotel housing migrants in Priti Patel's constituency.

The former UKIP MEP shared a video on Twitter in which he is seen visiting the £54-a-night Rivenhall Hotel in Witham, Essex.

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A baby was among at least 15 migrants intercepted while crossing the Channel on Sunday

While sharing a shortened version of his seven-minute long video, he also accused the MP of 'taking Britons for a ride'.

Bosses at the Home Office say they have launched a 'full review' into their operation of finding temporary accommodation for asylum seekers who arrive in the UK without a home to go to.

Yesterday it was revealed that a five-year-old girl was among a group of migrants arriving in Dover on the 14th consecutive day of Channel crossings.

On Sunday 112 migrants arrived at Kent's shores, bringing the total for this month so far up to at least 1,232 - smashing July's record 1,118 arrivals.

The arrivals come as traffickers take advantage of vulnerable asylum seekers desperately fleeing their homelands by offering the paid-for arrangement at a camp in Calais.

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A group of people thought to be migrants crossing the Channel in a small boat headed in the direction of Dover on Monday last week

Guest houses being used to house asylum seekers include The Scarisbrick Hotel in Southport and the Royal Hotel Hull.

The Home Office and asylum accommodation providers Mears, Serco and Clearsprings now use hotels due to the halting of all removals of applicants from properties amid the Covid-19 outbreak.

A source said: 'Usually there would be enough accommodation available as there are always people moved on after being given asylum or refused. There is not at the moment. The answer has been to source hotel accommodation, usually in three-star hotels.'

The Home Office said: 'Since March the number of people within the asylum system has risen. This is because we temporarily ceased ending asylum support for those whose claims have been either granted or refused. This is to ensure people were not made homeless during lockdown.'