Nine people found in back of lorry on M20 in Kent

They are being checked over by paramedics before being passed to immigration officers, police say

Nine people are being treated by paramedics are being found in the back of a lorry on the M20 in Kent.

Police were called to the London-bound carriageway between junctions 9 for Ashford and 8 for Maidstone where the lorry was stopped on Wednesday afternoon.

A spokesman has confirmed nine people are being checked over by paramedics before they are passed to immigration officers.

Kent Police said in a statement: “Kent Police was called at 3.40pm on Wednesday 23 October to reports of people in the back of a lorry on the M20.

“Nine people are now being checked as a precaution by the South East Coast Ambulance Service before they are passed to Home Office immigration officers.

“The London-bound carriageway was closed while officers dealt with the incident and one lane has now been reopened.”

Some motorists reported being stuck in standstill traffic on the motorway for more than an hour as five miles of congestion built up while police dealt with the incident.

It comes on the same day 39 people were found dead in the trailer of a transport lorry at an industrial estate in Essex.

Police found the bodies of 38 adults and one teenager after they were called to Waterglade industrial park in Grays in the early hours of Wednesday.

A 25-year-old man from Northern Ireland, who has not been named, was arrested on suspicion of murder.