Eleven people – including four young children – have been cut free from the back of an articulated lorry on the A303 near West Knoyle this afternoon.
Seven adults and four children were rescued from the refrigerated unit by firefighters on a Heavy Rescue Unit from Trowbridge using disc cutters.
A spokesperson for Wiltshire Police said: “The driver was unable to open the doors due to finding a lock had been damaged so the fire crew had to use cutting equipment to gain entry.
“Once the doors were opened 11 people believed to be from Iraq and Afghanistan were found inside and amongst the group were four children who appeared to be aged between 6 and 15.
“As a welfare concern all of the group were individually medically assessed at the scene by paramedics and then deemed fit to be held by the police for illegally entering the UK.
“The lorry had come in from mainland Europe overnight and the matter will now be handed over to our colleagues from the Home Office immigration department to deal in conjunction with assistance from the police and child services.”
