NEARLY 4,000 asylum seekers have been caught pretending to be children to get into Britain — some at least 30 years old.
About 45 per cent of the 8,766 “kids” checked by border officials since the start of 2020 turned out to be adults.
That includes 887 rumbled from January to September last year.
Another 1,582 were busted in 2022 — equivalent to 30 a week — compared to just 227 a decade ago.
Unaccompanied minors asking for asylum have the right to extra financial help and housing with a host family.
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The benefits continue until they are 25, when they can apply to remain permanently.
A report by Migration Watch found at least 52 in 2022 claiming to be kids were over the age of 30.
Of the overall tricksters, 1,361 were from Afghanistan, 612 from Iran and 550 from Sudan.
Migration Watch chairman Alp Mehmet said: “That so many still go for this ruse, even when they obviously look much older, tells me it’s a deception that often works.”
A Home Office spokesman said: “We are strengthening the age assessment process.”
