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Driver who found migrant hiding in his trailer fined ‘obscene’ £6,000

Peter Hughes said that he and his wife Anne  knew nothing of the Sudanese migrant before he was found
Peter Hughes said that he and his wife Anne knew nothing of the Sudanese migrant before he was found - Kenny Brown/Men Media

A pensioner has been fined £6,000 after a would-be illegal immigrant was found hiding in his trailer.

Peter Hughes, 75, was about to board a ferry back to Britain from Calais in May when a Sudanese stowaway was discovered by French border force officers.

The retired ambulance technician says he and his wife Anne, 78, knew nothing of the migrant before he was found.

Mr Hughes, from Droylsden, Lancashire, has now been told by Border Force to pay a £6,000 fine within 60 days.

“I have not slept with worry, it has really affected me,” he told the Manchester Evening News.

“I think it’s obscene. I feel that I am being screwed. I am just the average Joe in the street.”

Mr Hughes plans to appeal the fine and said he had contacted Angela Rayner, the Deputy Prime Minister, who is his local MP.

Mr and Mrs Hughes, who is also a retired carer, had been on holiday in the south of France and were about to board.

“I have got a motorhome, a Transit-size Renault with a 4ft trailer on the back,” he said. “It had all the camping gear in it.

“We get to Calais and we stopped at a supermarket to get some bits, and that’s where we think it happened.

“My wife and the dog stayed in the van and we think somebody snuck up to the trailer and put someone in.”

The Sudanese migrant was taken away by French border officers
The Sudanese migrant was taken away by French border officers - UGC/Men Media

The couple continued on their journey and reached border control at the Port of Calais, from where they were due to catch a ferry across the English Channel.

“They said they wanted to check everything,” Mr Hughes recalled. “It is a standard practice which we accept and fully understand.

“They asked to look in the trailer, I unhooked the straps from the cover, then there was a foot and a leg.

“We found out later he was a young Sudanese man. Border control said we could not go anywhere until the police came. They turned up and took him away.

“One of the officers said to me that we should not have any problems.”

He added: “When we got back to the UK I was sent a letter saying that I was going to be investigated for the offence of concealing a stowaway in effect.

“I filled all the paperwork in and complied with everything that they asked me to do. I thought nothing was going to happen. Then on Saturday I get the letter.”

The letter, sent by Border Force’s “clandestine entrant civil penalty team”, declares: “The Secretary of State has decided that you are liable to a penalty of: UK (GBP) £6,000.”

Mr Hughes claimed staff working in Ms Rayner’s constituency office had branded the letter “disgusting”.

‘It’s out of order’

“It’s just completely out of order and not on,” he said. “We just do not know what to do.

“I have had a phone call from Angela Rayner’s office. They are going to look into it. They said they thought it was disgusting. I have also had a response from Citizens Advice.

“£6,000, no way. I cannot accept paying that. The notice looks to me like a pro forma letter that they would send out to a haulage company.

“They have obviously not taken anything into consideration and just churned it out. It’s just not on.”

A spokesman for the Home Office said: “The Clandestine Entrant Civil Penalty Scheme is designed to secure our border, target negligence, and ensure drivers take every reasonable step to deter irregular migration.

“We understand that recipients of penalties may disagree with the circumstances of the fine. The option to appeal and trigger a review is made clear in supporting documents, as we aim to achieve a fair resolution for both parties.”