Migrant hid under school trip coach for 140 miles

AN illegal immigrant entered the country by hiding underneath a school coach returning from a trip to France.

The youth, who claimed to be from Sudan, is believed to have stowed away on the vehicle when it stopped in Calais.

He was not found during border checks before the coach boarded a ferry and was found only when it got to Chelmondiston, near Ipswich, Suffolk.

The stowaway, whose age is unknown, was taken to Ipswich Hospital with suspected mild hypothermia after the 140-mile journey, then handed over to immigration officers.

The coach had been on a three-day trip to France with Year Six pupils from Chelmondiston Church of England Primary School. Eleven-yearolds from nearby Holbrook Primary School are also believed to have been on board.

It is believed they left for home early on Tuesday morning and passed through Calais, where hundreds of refugees remain in the hope of stowing away on vehicles heading to the UK.

The illegal immigrant was discovered at 10.50am on Tuesday after the coach reached its destination. It is not known where he hid during the journey. Luggage compartments are commonly used but some people have been known to ride on the axles of large vehicles.

Border officials use mirrors to check under vehicles. It is not known what security measures were carried out on the coach.

Suffolk Police confirmed it had been contacted about a ‘male found underneath a bus’.

The Home Office said: ‘A male, who presented himself as a Sudanese minor, was taken to hospital as a precaution but has now been passed into the care of social services to be age assessed. His case will be progressed in line with the immigration rules.’

‘Taken to hospital as a precaution’