[user104658]

Originally Posted by Cherie

Can someone tell me why the only ones 'fleeing' to the UK are young men, no women, no children, no elderly .....

The reason there are few children is because of the high risk of death, the reason there are no elderly is because A) They would probably die and B) the elderly are far less likely to be on a quest for a new/better life in the first place. The reason for it being mostly males is probably cultural; usually the idea (realistic though it may not be) is that the men will go and set up a life / make money with an aim of either getting the rest of the family over to join later, or to send money back to the family.

Though the most basic reason is that it's dangerous and young males are inclined to recklessness / feel like they are stronger and tougher than they are realistically and thus have a higher belief that heading across the sea in a small boat in winter is a viable plan.