UPDATE: A Dartford man who is currently is custody over a suspected plot to smuggle illegal immigrants into the country is a former judo champion, it has been revealed.

A man from Dartford is currently behind bars, charged with immigration offences, after two children and 16 Albanian adults were rescued from a sinking boat in the English Channel.

Robert Stilwell, 33, and Mark Stribling, 35, of Farningham, both appeared at Medway Magistrates’ Court yesterday (May 30) charged under Section 25 of the Immigration Act 1971.

The pair were remanded in custody, until their next hearing on June 27.

The incident, which happened on Saturday night (May 28) and involved one woman, sparked fears that tragedies seen in Greece and Italy could start occurring in the Channel.

It is thought that the group on board had alerted their families in Calais to the fact that the inflatable boat was in danger, and they raised the alarm with the French authorities.

Two British men and the Albanian nationals were detained on a beach in Dymchurch and handed over to Border Force, after being rescued by the Coastguard and lifeboat charity RNLI.

A second vessel, believed to be linked to the dinghy which came into trouble, was discovered on the beach in Dymchurch on Sunday – and was also seized by authorities.

President of the French coastguard Bernard Barron told Sky News: “It’s starting to become a very similar situation to that seen in the Mediterranean, and my biggest fear is the same kind of tragedies we have seen in Greece or Italy will start to repeat in the Channel.”

He added that smugglers have found a new way of bringing migrants into the country – after it became “virtually impossible” for them to enter via the Channel Tunnel or ferries.

Instead, they are now setting sail from a stretch of coast between Ostend, in Belgium, and Normandy, in northern France, in attempts to reach the UK – it is believed.

Mr Barron said even though the smugglers are being given large sums of money, they are not providing suitable transport for a “sea filled with danger with strong currents, storms and heavy traffic of larger vessels”.

The National Crime Agency recently revealed migrants are paying smuggling gangs up to £13,500 for these dangerous journeys.

The sinking ship incident followed the arrest of a British man, wanted on suspicion of murder in Spain, after he and 17 suspected Albanian migrants were detained at Chichester Marina, West Sussex, last Tuesday.

The 55-year-old man, who was the subject of a European Arrest Warrant, was also detained on suspicion of facilitating illegal immigration.

The Albanians in the original event have been detained pending Home Office enquiries.