His comments come after nine boats carrying almost 200 migrants made the journey in one day this week. The Home Office said that a further 53 people were prevented from making the journey by French authorities on Thursday.

So far, more than 2,500 people in small boats have reached the UK in 2021 so far which is an increase of more than 1,000 compared to the same period last year.

In a video published on his YouTube channel, the former Brexit Party leader predicted that the figures will continue to grow rapidly.

Mr Farage said: “Let me tell you that, to date, the number that have come illegally across the English, at least the number we know of, is now approaching 3,000.

“I said this time last year that 5,000 people might come throughout 2020. I was wrong. Completely wrong.

“The figure was 8,500 and I’m telling you on the current projections this year it is going to be 20,000 people.”

Mr Farage went on to claim that “this crisis” will continue unless the Government takes action.

He added: “I’m afraid 2021 is going to get a lot worse. So this is my first attempt to flag what is really going on this year.”

Home Secretary Priti Patel is set to introduce tough new measures to crack down on migrants crossing the Channel as well as making it easier for the Government to deport foreign criminals.

READ MORE: Channel crossing sees 3x more migrants this year compared to 2020

“Instead, you are choosing the UK as your preferred destination and you are doing so at the expense of those with nowhere else to go.”

Under Ms Patel’s plans, asylum seekers who enter the UK through irregular means, including crossing the Channel by a small boat, will have fewer rights than those who arrive through safe and legal routes.

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) warned this would create a “discriminatory two-tier asylum system” and “risk breaching international legal commitments”.

The British Red Cross also shared similar concerns over the proposals and urged the UK to “play its part globally by introducing more safe routes for people fleeing war, persecution and violence who are in need of safety, that go beyond the current plans”.