'Border control found a migrant in my trailer at Calais, what happened next was obscene'

A great grandfather has been ordered to pay an “obscene” fine after was found hiding inside his trailer as he drove home .

Peter Hughes, 75, says he and wife Anne, 78, knew nothing of the would-be stowaway from Sudan who was found by French border force officers at the Port of Calais. He and his wife had been preparing to board a ferry back home to the UK after a camping holiday around France with their dog, and believe he climbed inside when they stopped at a supermarket.

French police were called to the port in May and after returning home to Droylsden, Tameside, Peter said he was sent a letter informing him he was being investigated.

READ MORE:

The retired ambulance service worker completed all the relevant paperwork expected of him. On Saturday, he received a letter from the Clandestine Entrant Civil Penalty Team - part of the UK Border Force - telling him the “Secretary of State has decided” he's “liable to a penalty of £6,000.”

Furious Peter told : "I have not slept with worry - it has really affected me. I think it's obscene.

“I feel that I am being screwed - I am just the average Joe in the street. We presume it happened in the supermarket car park, as we travelled to Calais from the south of France and slept in the van overnight in a service station.

"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.

"We get to Calais port and go to the booking office, parking the trailer outside. We booked the ferry there, then went into the port proper and went through check-in. Then we got to border control. They said they wanted to check everything - 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, and now this.

"This should serve as a warning to other people - this could happen to anyone and it's just not on."

The letter listed a series of regulations UK Border Force said Peter had complied with but it accuses him of failing to check the trailer before arriving at immigration control at Calais. It reads: "No standard checks were completed on the vehicle or trailer as soon as practicable before reaching immigration controls. Therefore the driver did not comply with this regulation."

Peter added: “You try to be a good citizen and help others - which is what I have done - and now this happens. It's just completely out of order and not on. 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."

The Home Office has been approached for comment.