Published: Friday, 6th February, 2009 4:08pm

Two lorries full of illegal immigrants in Slough

NINETEEN illegal immigrants have been discovered being smuggled into Slough in the back of two lorries.

A gang of 15 Middle-Eastern men were discovered in the 37-tonne tanker at the Mars factory covered head-to-toe in chocolate crumb which is used to make chocolate.

The Hungarian driver, in his 40s, became suspicious when he heard banging from the lorry as he entered the factory in Cambridge Avenue, Slough. The men, who are said to be aged between 20 and 40, tried to escape but were

arrested by police.

An hour later a seven-tonne lorry, containing wooden pallets, was discovered with four Middle-Eastern men on the Colnbrook Bypass.

All foreign nationals and two drivers were arrested by police for offences under the immigration act.

A Mars employee, who does not want to be named, said: "They were lucky to be alive because there is normally a pipe on the lorry to suck the air out of it to keep the products inside fresh. The men all looked like they had a rough time of it when they came out."

Firefighters and ambulance were called moments after the discovery on Wednesday just before 11am.

The fire crew from Windsor used a thermal imaging camera to check if there were any more people inside.

Both lorries were from Holland and a police spokeswoman said: "We can't say if the two incidents are linked. Our first priority was to check the men were not dying because they had been cooped up for so long."

The men were taken to Slough and Maidenhead police station and are being quizzed by officers and officials from the UK Border Agency who are investigating their claims and whether they should be deported.

Last year there were 28,000 attempts by illegal immigrants trying to gain entry to the UK from France on lorries.

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