Family's shock as 'illegal immigrant' crawls out from motorhome

A father and daughter got a shock when they returned a rented motorhome from a holiday in Europe and a suspected illegal immigrant crawled out.

Paul Coles and daughter Joanne, 22, had hired the Swift Kontiki for a motorcycling tour of Andorra.

They rented the vehicle from owner Teresa Tyrer, 43, and dropped it off at her home in Ashford, Kent on Monday afternoon.

But as they started to unload it the exhausted stowaway emerged from underneath.

Paul, 50, from Matlock, Derbyshire, said the man must have tied himself to the chassis when they arrived in Calais for the early morning shuttle.

He said: "It was a bit of a shock. We were unloading and suddenly this face appears between my legs. He must have tied himself on because I don't think he could cling on for that long."

Paul brought him a sandwich and a glass of water as Teresa called police.

The man, who speaks Arabic, made no effort to escape as officers arrived but wept as he was led away to Home Office offficials.

Motorhome owner Teresa said she felt sorry for the stowaway and urged holidaymakers to be on guard against immigrants trying to clamber into their vehicles.

She said: "The man and his daughter had been driving since 3am to make the crossing at Calais.

"All of a sudden a hand appeared from underneath the vehicle and nearly gave them a heart attack."

She added: "You've got to feel sorry for him. He's only young and it's just a shame they are prepared to do things that are so dangerous. "

Kent Police said: "The man was collected and transferred to the Home Office Immigration Enforcement for them to take any further action."