Irishman Arrested As English Police Discover 15 People In Lorry

An Irish man has been arrested after 15 people were discovered in the back of the lorry he was driving in south-west England.

Wiltshire Police said a member of the public raised the alarm on Wednesday evening, 06 November. The lorry was located on the A350 near Chippenham.

Some 15 people, all believed to be males aged between 16 and 30, were located in the rear of the vehicle and arrested on suspicion of entering the UK illegally. Police said their nationalities are not yet known.

The driver of the vehicle, a man his 50s from Ireland, was arrested on suspicion of assisting illegal entry into the country. He remains in custody in Swindon.

Following initial assessment by paramedics, 14 of the unidentified people were taken to custody suites in Melksham and Swindon and one was taken to hospital. This individual was also later taken into custody.

Duty Superintendent Steve Cox said: "Members of the public would have noticed a large number of emergency services in the vicinity of the A350 last night while we dealt with this incident and the road was closed for approximately four hours while we carried out enquiries at the scene and recovery was arranged for the lorry, which was a hard-sided large goods vehicle.

"We are working closely with partner agencies as we conduct further enquiries - I fully understand that recent tragic events elsewhere in the country will mean there will be increased interest and heightened concern regarding this incident.

"I'd like to thank all emergency services who responded last night - as with all incidents, we didn't know the scale of what we would potentially be dealing with and all first responders showed true professionalism at the scene.

"I would also like to extend my thanks to the vigilant member of the public who initially reported this incident to us - it is thanks to them that this incident was resolved swiftly and safely with no serious casualties."



(JG/CM)