Rural inland villages are becoming the new targets for migrants and drugs being smuggled over in yachts.

There are up to 9,000 locations which could be used to sneak people and goods into the country, according to Home Office intelligence estimates. 

Many of these are quiet, inland communities far from the coast. The National Crime Agency has even began installing signs in villages warning residents to report suspicious-looking boats.

Airmyn, a Yorkshire village with a population of just 800, has been flagged as a location for 'suspicious' boat landing.

The village, 35 miles from the sea, has seen posters erected asking locals to consider if they've spotted 'boats arriving at unusual times'.

The poster, erected as part of the Operation Kraken campaign, urges members of the public to 'report it' and 'sort it', providing contact details for the UK Border Watch via Crimestoppers. 

The warning posters are sponsored by Border Force, the Joint Maritime Security Centre, National Police Chiefs’ Council, NCA and Counter Terrorism Police.

In Chichester, five men were arrested after a yacht ferrying seven illegal Albanian migrant was intercepted in the city's marina.

Two crew members, one Albanian, 25, and a Brit, 42, were arrested on suspicion of facilitating illegal immigration to the UK.

Two Albanian men and another British national were also arrested on suspicion of being a 'shore party' to meet the boat.

It came a year after a similar smuggling operation, where Border Force intercepted a yacht filled with 20 Albanians off the coast of Cornwall.

Speaking after the arrests, a former people smuggler, who transported dozens of migrants into seaside towns, said yachts were viewed as an easy way to bring people into the country.

People smugglers are now advertising places on yachts to customers using TIkTok.

One advert on the social media platform, reported by the Telegraph, said: 'Tomorrow yacht to UK'. It is accompanied by an image of a luxury yacht alongside British and Albanian flags and a sunset.

Another post shows a picture of a less glamorous yacht on a Belgian river. It reads: 'Who is in Belgium? The yacht will be back tomorrow morning. Safe passage through the checkpoints.'   

In a report last year, John Tuckett, the chief inspector of Borders and Immigration, said 'at the most basic level', Border Force did not know how many locations' could be used for illegal landings.   

He said Home Office Intelligence estimated that there were between 7,000 to 9,000 locations'.

The Home Office has been contacted for comment.