Drivers stuck on Eurotunnel train

Eurotunnel launched an investigation yesterday after it emerged that around 20 passengers travelled to France and back without being able to get off their train.

The "forgotten" passengers, going through the Channel Tunnel from Folkestone to Calais, were in seven vehicles loaded behind an empty wagon. Staff at Calais unloaded the front vehicles on the train but stopped when they reached the unused carriage.

The passengers travelled back to Folkestone where Eurotunnel staff put them on the next train back to Calais. A spokesman said: "Something like this has never happened before in our 16-year history and it's very embarrassing for us."