Afghan stowaways reach Britain - only to arrive at a US airbase

Eight Afghan boys who stowed away on the back of a lorry bound for Britain made a disastrous mistake.

Instead of slipping undetected across the Channel, they hid themselves on a vehicle delivering bread to a giant American air base, one of the most heavily guarded sites in Britain.

The moment the terrified youngsters were discovered at RAF Lakenheath, they were surrounded by armed American soldiers on permanent high alert for terrorist attack. The boys could even have been forgiven for thinking they had arrived in the United States itself. Although the base in Suffolk is owned by the Ministry of Defence, it is set up like a small American town, with burger bars, cinemas and a bowling alley.

Lakenheath is home to the USAF 48th Fighter Wing, with the 5,000 American personnel on site maintaining and flying F-15E Strike Eagle and F-15C Eagle fighters.

One resident said: "These poor kids must have been petrified when they were found. Security is constantly very high and everybody and every vehicle coming in and out is searched by armed soldiers."

He said the boys, aged between 11 and 16, were discovered during a routine search of the lorry at the entrance to the base. "It would have been a terrifying experience to be surrounded by soldiers with their guns trained on you," the resident said. "The soldiers would have taken their discovery extremely seriously and it would have taken a while before they were dismissed as stowaways."

The boys are believed to have boarded the lorry, which began its journey in Germany, as it travelled through France. One theory is that they slipped under its tarpaulin covers at Calais before it was loaded on to a cross-Channel ferry to Dover. After being caught at Lakenheath, they were checked by a doctor, who gave them a clean bill of health despite their ordeal.

British military police were called in and the boys were handed over to the immigration authorities.

An MoD Police spokes-man said: "There's no suggestion they knew the lorry would be going to a military base. I think they were very surprised to find themselves surrounded by American security guards."

The continuing turmoil in Afghanistan means tens of thousands of refugees flee abroad every year. Last year, 2,400 Afghans claimed asylum in Britain, the second largest national group after Eritreans. More than 3,000 child asylum-seekers arrive alone in Britain each year. Under new Home Office plans announced last week, they could be dispersed around the country while their applications are assessed and forcibly deported if they fail.

A Home Office spokes-woman confirmed that the eight Afghan boys were now in the custody of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate.