THE staff at a Leighton freight company pounced on two illegal immigrants who had burst through the roof of a lorry that had pulled into the depot from France.
The French-owned truck, which was carrying a consignment of commercial boilers, had parked up in the secure compound of Miniclipper, off Billington Road on Tuesday, when workers spotted the men.
Peter Masters, MD of Miniclipper logistics, said the aliens, who were believed to be Vietnamese, had cut a hole in the roof of the lorry to escape.
“We have a very secure compound here and they stood no chance of escaping,” said Mr Masters.
“They appeared out of the roof as soon as the lorry came to a stop but some of my men grabbed hold of them and sat on them until the police arrived to take them away. They were only young guys, aged about 17, but they soon realised there was nowhere to run.
“They must have sneaked onto the lorry in France and had been hiding away for a couple of days. The lorry came through the Channel Tunnel and, usually, customs’ officers use scanners which can detect body heat. They obviously must have missed this one.
“It’s the first time this has ever happened to us. Despite what you hear it is still extremely rare for stowaways to get into the country in this way.”