A suspected people smuggler was in custody today accused of placing a record 173 migrants onto a single 'mega-dinghy' that burst into flames in the English Channel. More than 2,000 migrants have arrived on UK shores in small-boat crossings since Andy Burnham became Prime Minister. 'Five people had initially asked to be rescued, because the boat was in such a bad way,' said the prefecture spokesman. At the end of last month, 165 migrants reached the UK in a single boat, the Home Office confirmed. Among the rescued migrants was a woman who cradled a baby with relief, while others bore haunted stares as they were driven away in a coach.