On Marine Parade in Dover, an empty boat with its windows smashed lies docked on concrete, a blue police banner still stuck to it. The catamaran is the lasting remnant of a voyage taken by a group of 12 migrants who crashed on to the shore in recent weeks.

A growing number of people are crossing the Channel from France to the UK, and arriving in Kent, according to reports. An estimated 220 people are thought to have attempted the journey in the past six weeks, including 40, in five boats, on Christmas Day, and a further 40 since.

Most recently, a 10-year-old child was one of 12 people who came ashore near Lydd-on-Sea, Kent.

On Monday, the impact of what has been happening could be felt on Marine Parade. Locals described a town divided by what a number believe is a crisis “getting out of hand”.

A catamaran that carried 12 people to Dover’s shore. Photograph: Christian Sinibaldi/Guardian

Dover, England’s major Channel port, has long been home to immigrants, but the recent publicity and reports about people arriving are creating a sense of frustration.

Steven Gash, 59, said: “We are fed up with the situation, it’s a constant influx of illegal immigrations, and if we cannot protect our own coastline … how closely are these people vetted when they come in?”

He said some groups in the area are more welcoming, but he believes they do not understand “what [people arriving] could lead to”.

“When it comes to the fact these people want a better life, I want a better life,” he said. “The government are not going to give that to me … I have worked all my life and if I wanted to claim anything, I won’t get a thing.”

Gash said many in Dover feel people are coming over to seek benefits without being genuinely in need.

“When the news says these people pay £20,000 to a trafficker to get them across the channel – if you have £20,000 then [that’s] probably more than the poverty-ridden people in this country,” he said. “So why do you then want to come over and use our health service and our education and benefits?”

Steven Gash: ‘When it comes to the fact these people want a better life, I want a better life.’ Photograph: Christian Sinibaldi/Guardian

Meanwhile, Stephen and Jayne Easton described the abandoned catamaran as an eyesore.

“It’s falling to pieces and it was carrying 12 people. It hit the harbour wall and capsized,” Stephen Easton said.

“It’s just getting out of hand, it’s crazy. Sooner or later, someone will be killed, if they haven’t been already … We need more Border Force cutters here.”

Tanya Long, the director of the Dover-based migrant charity Samphire, said recent events had created tension in the area.

“Those who claim asylum in France get more benefits, [and for those who think otherwise] it’s a complete lack of understanding about the real reasons people are trying to come here,” she said. “It’s much more complex than that.”

Long said there had always been many asylum seekers arriving in Dover. “Lots of what we are hearing is negative. There have been some awful comments like ‘let them drown’ or people saying the area is ‘being invaded’,” she said.

However, she added that there is also local support. “My charity is working with local residents in a programme called Dover Welcomes All and bringing together migrant communities through activities to break down any barriers that may exist,” Long said.

“There are those in the Dover area who also have compassion and understand the plight of refugees, but perhaps that’s a voice that is not heard … The anti-migrants are more vociferous. Those more supportive and understanding may fear a backlash and don’t want to speak out.”

Long said the problem was, to a certain degree, being blown out of proportion: “People are still coming through lorries, etc, but you don’t see that … so people are not as aware of that happening, but when people are arriving on the shore and a local resident comes across them, it’s more visible.”

A resident called Irene said it was not a question of being prejudiced, given that there are so many of “Dover’s own who have been neglected and left”.

“Young kids on streets, the town has gone to wrack and ruin,” she said. “The homeless are all youngsters – you do what you can, but you can tell they are just going to die in the cold. Then there are people who fought in our forces neglected.”

Her companion, Mick, said: “As soon as people come over here [as migrants], they get looked after. They might be at an immigration centre, but they get looked after, not sent back where they came from.”

Razia Shariff, the chief executive of Kran, a charity that supports unaccompanied minors seeking refuge in Kent, said negative reactions to news of the “crisis” are disheartening but not surprising.

The beach at Kingsdown, near Deal in Kent, where six people recently arrived by dinghy. Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

“There has always been a narrative around any sort of migration, even around refugees and asylum seekers who have the right to seek safety,” she said.

“But this position of ‘send them back’ is a kneejerk reaction, instead of being considered and taking into account the different factors that make people make these very difficult decisions.”

While the charity has worked with a “consistent” number of people, the fact that the latest arrivals are coming by boat is new, she said.

“We think it is because of the tightening of the borders in France, which happened after the closing of the camps,” Shariff said. “Now people are much more reliant on agents who have taken other pathways through places like Plymouth, and now risking their lives in boats.”

Before 2016, responsibility for accommodating and caring for an unaccompanied asylum-seeking child in England fell to the local authority where the child first presented, putting pressure on entry points such as Kent and Hillingdon.

In July that year, the government launched the National Transfer Scheme to try to help distribute the responsibility for caring for unaccompanied asylum seekers more evenly among local authorities – the idea being that no local authority’s number of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children should constitute more than 0.07% of its total care population.

As a result, the numbers of unaccompanied minors Kent dealt with fell, but they started rising again in March this year, because many in the original 2015 cohort started to leave care, taking Kent below the 0.07% figure, so it began to accept more unaccompanied minors instead of transferring them to other local authorities.

One couple who pass by are more understanding. “If we were in a similar situation, from a war-torn country and trying to make a better life for ourselves, we would do the same thing,” said Fred, who does not want to give his surname. “But people don’t think about that. In a way, we are all migrants … and people forget that.”

His partner, Katya, said: “People often think of their own lives and think most people are just trying to trick the systems that are present, but actually if we were in that situation then anyone would try to go somewhere they wanted to feel safe and get some help. Sometimes people think of what is going on around them and not others.”