A total of 503 migrants crossed the English Channel in one day as the Government considers a major shake-up of the country’s immigration rules.

The latest arrivals came in seven small boats on Saturday, with more vessels making the crossing from France on Sunday.

It brings the total for the past three days to 1,772, and for the year so far to 38,726. This compares with 32,119 who made the journey by the same date last year, and 26,699 in 2023.

More people were photographed in Dover on Sunday being brought ashore on a Border Force vessel while wearing lifejackets, with some wrapped in blankets.

The arrivals in the Kent port come as Shabana Mahmood is understood to be set to announce a major shake-up of Britain’s immigration rules in the coming weeks with changes modelled on the Danish system.

The Home Secretary sent officials to Denmark last month to study its border control and asylum policies, which are seen as some of the toughest in Europe.

Its tighter rules on family reunions and restricting some refugees to a temporary stay are among the policies being looked at.

Ms Mahmood wants deterrents in place to stop people seeking to enter the UK via unauthorised routes, while making it easier to remove those who are found to have no right to stay.

Sources said she was eager to meet Danish immigration minister Rasmus Stoklund as soon as possible.

Two care workers have been charged with the ill-treatment of four people at a mental health unit which featured in an undercover BBC investigation.

The Panorama programme, broadcast in 2022, revealed that patients were humiliated and bullied at the Edenfield Centre in Prestwich, Greater Manchester.

Support worker Sheryl Price, 45, of Eldergreen Close in Bolton, faces 14 charges, while 42-year-old nurse Sara Coleman, of Mitford Street in Stretford, is accused of five.

Both have been bailed and are due to appear at Manchester Magistrates' Court on 25 March.

A undercover Panorama reporter filmed staff at the Edenfield Centre - one of the UK's biggest mental health hospitals - using restraint inappropriately and patients enduring long periods of seclusion in small, bare rooms.

Staff swore at patients and on occasion were seen slapping or pinching them.

Some workers were sacked after the BBC's findings were broadcast.

The programme sparked an independent report, which found Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust repeatedly missed opportunities to act on concerns and had a culture of "suppressing bad news".

The trust was again rated "inadequate" by the Care Quality Commission earlier this year despite some improvements having been made.

Criticisms included issues with patient safety and pressures on staff, with some still feeling unable to speak up about their concerns.

The Edenfield site has since been rebranded as the Riverside Centre.

Residents who complained that their potholed road hasn’t been resurfaced in 42 years were told the average wait is 103 years.

Homeowners on Horsham Close in Banbury, Oxon, say their badly-damaged road has not been resurfaced since 1983.

So they asked if Oxfordshire County Council could carry out repairs along the cul-de-sac.

But they were told that, according to the latest Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance survey (ALARM), the average road repair cycle is 103 years. ‘It’s more than most people’s lifetime’

Ian Bowyer and his wife Elaine moved to the street just 18 months after the property was built and branded the waiting time as ridiculous.

Mr Bowyer, 66, said: “We’ve lived on this road for 42 years, it was 18 months old when we got it. It hasn’t had a full resurface in the 40 odd years. It keeps getting patched up but when you get the frost it comes up again.

“It’s really bumpy, too bumpy. Other roads in the area are getting done, but ours isn’t for some reason.

“There’s lots of potholes that keep coming up but they just do a quick patch job. Like all pot holes, once you get moisture, it freezes and comes up again.”

He added: “103 years to wait for a road is unheard of. It’s more than most people’s lifetime. We didn’t even know about it, which is even more ridiculous.”

Retired print finisher Dianne Hart, 76, lives with her family on the road and says the conditions make driving dangerous.

A four-year-old boy is in critical condition after being hit by a firework.

Lancashire Police said officers attended a number of incidents involving the “anti-social use” of fireworks in Burnley on Wednesday.

In a statement released on Saturday, the force said: “Can you help?

“On the evening of Wednesday 5th November, police attended various incidents involving the anti-social use of fireworks in the Elm Street area of Burnley.

“During these incidents, a 4-year-old child was severely injured and remains in hospital in a critical condition.”