Six suspected illegal immigrants have been arrested after they were spotted leaving a lorry.
Police were called when a member of the public saw a group – of both adults and children – exiting the back of a HGV parked in a lay-by on the A303 at around 3.45pm yesterday afternoon.
Police Dog Bree (a Belgian Shepherd) and her handler PC Mark Jenkins were sent to the Winterbourne Stoke area in an attempt to locate them. After tracking for 1.8 miles across farmland for nearly an hour and a half, six males were found hiding in dense scrub within a woodland.
The males, believed to be from Afghanistan, were arrested on suspicion of entering the country illegally. They are all currently in custody at Melksham Police Station.
“We believe that a number of those arrested are under 18 so have liaised with both the local authority and the UK Border Agency, to ensure they receive the relevant help and support”, a spokesperson for Wiltshire Police said.
