Lorry drivers travelling through Calais say they are being forced to act as amateur immigration officers, with fines of £2,000 per migrant found in their trailers. Many drivers report finding stowaways hidden in cramped and dangerous spaces, including wrapped around wheel axles.
Euan Fleming, a 43-year-old driver from County Down, described opening his trailer to find six adults and a baby inside. 'I was shocked, but the bottom line was I had seven immigrants in the back of the trailer – I was sympathetic but not to the extent that I was willing to pay £14,000 to bring them into the UK,' he said.
Drivers say the situation has become increasingly intimidating. Some report migrants using Stanley knives to cut into trailers. 'We are supposed to get these guys out ourselves. I'm qualified as a truck driver – that's what I'm trained as. I'm not qualified as crowd control or riot police,' Fleming added.
Migrants in Calais, many from Sudan and Eritrea, say they are fleeing war and dictatorship. Haroon Tsegaye from Eritrea said he wants 'a home, work, safety and respect.' Another man from Sudan acknowledged the drivers' concerns but asked, 'What choice do we have?'
Home Office figures show migrants in Calais made around 100 attempts a day to enter the UK illegally during mid-2014. Drivers say the fines imposed on their companies have left them feeling fed up and, in some cases, out of sympathy for those trying to cross.
