A mother walking her son home from school saved the lives of seven suspected illegal immigrants after hearing screams and bangs from a refrigerated lorry. Seven Iranian and Iraqi nationals, including two children under 16, were discovered after Tammy Harris, 34, heard the sounds coming from the HGV.
She begged the driver to look in the back of his lorry, which was carrying tonnes of chilled pears, and called police when she realised there were people inside. Officers arrested the immigrants after they were found stowed away in the back of a lorr
y in the village of Badsey, Worcs., on Thursday.
The HGV had been transporting chilled pears from Portugal and it is estimated the immigrants, who were suffering frost bite, may have been inside for up to eight hours.
Miss Harris was walking her six-year-old son Myles back from school when she heard knocking and shouting coming from the lorry which had stopped at a pelican crossing.
She said: I was walking Myles across the road when I heard a loud bang. At first I thought the lorry had a blow out but then I heard more banging and screaming.
It was horrific because I thought someone was trapped underneath the lorry. I told the driver to check his lorry and at first he wasn’t keen but eventually he got out and we could here screaming. People were shouting ‘help, help please save us.
I just had to get them out of there. I was just so worried about them because I noticed it was a chilled trailer. We went to the back of the lorry and could hear the screaming getting louder. It was coming from a little porthole on the back. The driver wanted to open the lorry up but I said no, we had to call the police first.
The police arrived soon afterwards and got the immigrants out. They were all looking really cold and hunched over. They had woolly hats and gloves and scarves on. It took about an hour to get them out of the lorry. When the door opened they looked so frightened.
Some of them were finding it difficult to get out because it was so cold. They didn’t look in a very good state of mind really. I would imagine it would have been pitch black dark in there.
I’m pretty shocked and upset by it and I just feel so disappointed in our government that they are not doing anything to help. We watch it on the news and that, but to see it in real life – it is just horrible. I’m a dead believer that more should be done about it.
Police officers arrived just after 3.35pm and arrested seven people for allegedly entering the UK illegally. Immigration officers later attended Worcester police station where five Iranian men, aged between 20 and 39.
A further Iranian and an Iraqi national, believed to be minors, are due to be transferred to the care of social services to be independently aged assessed.
A West Mercia Police spokesperson said: “At approximately 3.35pm on Thursday, January 21, West Mercia Police received a report that it was believed there may be people travelling in the back of a lorry which was travelling through Main Road, Badsey.
On police arrival, seven males, believed to be foreign nationals, were discovered in the back of the vehicle. Immigration Enforcement is now dealing with this investigation.
A spokesperson for Immigration Enforcement said: Where someone is found to have no right to remain in the UK, we will take action to remove them.