Sudanese man is arrested after Ramsgate trawler crew wake to find him at the helm demanding to go to France to pick up his family

Olly Swift, co-owner of the 100-tonne whelk trawler Carousel, received a 3am phone call after a man boarded his vessel at Royal Harbour in Ramsgate, Kent, started the engines and slammed the throttle, snapping the mooring ropes and sending the boat hurtling through the harbour. The 30-year-old Sudanese man was demanding the sleeping crew take him across the Channel to collect his family from France. Officers arrested him at 3.17am; he remains in custody.

Swift told how the crew woke to the engine roaring and the boat 'going flat out ahead' — they initially assumed it was their skipper tinkering in the engine room.

Swift fears the Carousel may be a write-off after damage to the bow and mooring ropes during the incident.

Reform leader Nigel Farage shared the story on X after speaking to Swift directly, writing: 'Our country sinks deeper every day.'