Britain faces more than 40,000 asylum applications this year as migrants increasingly resort to using “covert” methods to get into European countries, a report has warned.

According to projections by the Overseas Development Institute, the UK will receive around 43,381 asylum applications in 2016, costing over £620 million.

Separate figures show that there were approximately 38,878 asylum claims in 2015.

The think-tank’s report estimates that that 330,000 people will reach Europe this year by sea through "overt" channels, normally across the Mediterranean.