A teenager who piloted a dinghy carrying a then-record 165 migrants across the English Channel to the UK has been sentenced to two years and three months in prison.

Chan Mathok Atak, 19, from South Sudan, admitted endangering others during a sea crossing on 23 July.

Prosecutors at Canterbury Crown Court said Atak created a risk of death or serious personal injury to others on board the boat.

At the time, the so-called “mega dinghy” set a record for the largest number of migrants brought over on a small boat in recent years. That figure has since been surpassed with 230 people on board a vessel in August.

At Canterbury Crown Court on Friday, Judge Sarah Counsell said the offence was so serious “only an immediate custodial sentence can be justified”.

She warned Atak that as a foreign national he was liable in principle to automatic deportation once he completed his sentence.

James Harrison, prosecuting, told the court the boat Atak was piloting was 12.8ft (3.9m) wide and 46.9ft (14.3m) long, a similar length to a standard bus.

The boat had travelled between Calais and the UK and was deflating when it was picked up by border force vessels.

The dinghy, which had 31 children on board with the youngest aged 14, had two outboard engines but one was not working, the court heard.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) said the boat was “severely overcrowded”, had limited food, drinking water, and medication, and had been at sea for almost 24 hours.

The quality of the lifejackets on board was also “completely inadequate” and the fire risk was “considerable” due to how close batteries were to fuel cans, the NCA added.

Harrison said just before the boat was intercepted, Atak moved away from the engine into another part of the vessel and took off his jacket.

He said this was an attempt to not to be identified as the helmsman.

However, Atak was seen during 90 minutes of aerial footage to be piloting the vessel using its one remaining functioning engine while wearing a black jacket with an “Italia” logo on it, the court heard.

Footage also showed one person “constantly pumping” to try to re-inflate the rigid-hulled inflatable boat.

Harrison said: “There’s no evidence to suggest that the defendant had any training or experience of conducting this type of navigation.

“The size of the vessel and the number of people on board presented an obvious danger. The vessel would have been unstable because of it deflating.”

Harrison said the risks of the crossing “would have been apparent to Atak”.

In an interview, Atak said he paid €200 euros (£172) to a gang for the crossing but denied he was the helmsman.

NCA senior investigating officer John Turner said: “Atak was unimaginably reckless and his actions could have easily resulted in many deaths had this boat not been intercepted.

“Not only did he place the lives of 165 migrants in severe peril, this flimsy vessel was entirely unsuitable for crossing one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.”

Endangerment at sea was made a new offence this year to target those alleged to have steered small boats over the Channel.

Anna Turley, Minister for Border Security and Asylum, described Atak as an “evil criminal”.

“He joins 16 other pilots sentenced in just three months for endangering lives with flimsy, overcrowded dinghies,” she said.

“This is a stark reminder of the ruthless acts used by smuggling gangs to exploit desperate people for profit, but today shows there is nowhere for them to hide.”

Defending him, barrister Audrey Mogan said there was “not a single shred of evidence” to suggest Atak had “anything to do with the number of people on the vessel, the state of the dinghy, or the fact that there were no life jackets or that the jackets were inadequate, or the lack of safety equipment or flares”.

“The idea that he had anything to do with the state of the boat and its overcrowding just flies in the face of reason,” she added.

Mogan described Atak as someone who had “escaped the horrors of South Sudan”, where he saw people being shot and having their throats cut, and militia setting fire to a neighbourhood.

Additional reporting from PA Media.

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