A British couple who discovered a stowaway hidden in the bike rack of their motorhome after returning from France have been fined £1,500 by the Home Office. Adrian and Joanne Fenton called the police immediately after finding the boy zipped inside the cover of a bike rack on their drive in Heybridge, Essex, on 15 October.
Joanne Fenton, 55, said border officials in Calais and the UK had not inspected the bike rack or cover before or after the ferry crossing. The couple later received a fine for failing to “check that no clandestine entrant was concealed” in the vehicle, which they are appealing.
Describing the discovery, Fenton told BBC Three Counties Radio: “As he unzips and unlocks all the covers which are really very tight, he sees two trainers. He then goes to have a look and sees two legs attached to it. He calls me and goes: ‘Jo – you need to phone the police. We have a stowaway.’” She added: “I am so angry. It is so frustrating because we have done the right thing and phoned the police.”
In an email to the Home Office, Adrian Fenton, 57, wrote: “At no point did I believe I would be fined by taking correct and moral action. This action taken by Border Force to impose a fine only encourages travellers in this position not to call the police but to let the stowaway abscond.”
Their local MP, John Whittingdale, has written to the minister for border security and asylum, Angela Eagle, calling for the fine to be withdrawn. He said: “I am appalled that my constituents who did the right thing by reporting the discovery of an illegal immigrant concealed in the bike rack of their motorhome to police should receive a fine of £1,500. It appears that they are being punished for acting responsibly.”
