Illegal immigrants found in clampdown

A clampdown on illegal immigrants netted seven people trying to reach Britain within minutes.

A clampdown on illegal immigrants netted seven people trying to reach Britain within minutes.

It was brought in by Britain's largest ferry company, P&O Stena Line, which is employing 40 round-the-clock guards in Calais.

The company acted after fear of fines over the number of illegal immigrants being smuggled aboard cross-Channel ferries, mainly on lorries.

Seven men were discovered hidden among felt and plastic mouldings in the back of a Dutch-registered lorry on its way to Coventry from Paris.

Guards were tipped off to the haul by the lorry's driver.

The lorry was checked with carbon dioxide detectors, which pick up the presence of human breath.

P&O Stena Line hired the guards at a cost of £500,000-a-year to check an estimated 750,000 lorries which board its vessels each year.

The firm has paid £100,000 in fines after the Government decided to clamp down on the problem.