Border Force threatens to fine stunned couple after they found asylum seeker hidden in their camper van bike rack when they arrived home after holiday to France
- John and Debbie Marriott discovered Sudanese man on their return to Worthing
- The pair have now been sent a letter from Border Force threatening with a fine
- Home Office confirmed officials are now ‘investigating the details of this case’
A couple who found an asylum seeker hidden in their bike rack after driving home to England from France have been threatened with a fine by Border Force.
John and Debbie Marriott, from Worthing in West Sussex, discovered the man under the tarpaulin covering their bikes after arriving home in their camper van on August 10.
A Sudanese youth who claimed to be 15 – despite looking older – had spent six hours wedged inside the bike rack as the couple travelled home through Calais.
Police collected him from the property.
The stunned couple have now revealed they received a letter from Border Force stating they may face a fine.
John and Debbie Marriott, from Worthing in West Sussex, discovered the man under the tarpaulin covering their bikes after arriving home in their camper van on August 10
‘To now get a letter from Border Force suggesting it’s our fault, it’s a bit of a joke,’ Mrs Marriott told the Sun.
‘They say we have broken the law by bringing someone into the country and have demanded to know details of our journey back home and what precautions we took.
‘It’s a slap in the face to say the least.’
The Home Office told MailOnline it is ‘investigating the details of this case.’
If Mr and Mrs Marriott can prove they had no reason to believe the asylum seeker was under the tarpaulin they will not be liable to pay any fine.
It comes as more than 1,000 migrants have arrived in the UK over the past 10 days, with more than 100, including a baby, picked up along the coast of Dover, Kent, yesterday.
Smuggler gangs are reportedly offering migrants ‘gold, silver and bronze’ package deals to cross the Channel – with the cheapest costing less than £1000.
A Sudanese youth who claimed to be 15 – despite looking older – climbed out, having spent six hours wedged inside. Police collected him from the property
Mr and Mrs Marriott had spent two weeks holidaying in their camper van before catching the ferry at Calais.
Former policeman Mr Marriott, 59, said they had arrived at the port for their 3.45pm ferry and went to a supermarket to buy some lunch.
‘When we pulled in there we saw two men talking on phones,’ he said.
‘They were just hanging around the camper van car park so they really stood out. When we came back out, there was one stood at the back of our van, hanging about by our cycle bikes, which were covered in tarpaulin.
‘I checked the bikes were there and the camper van was packed and everything appeared to be there. I still don’t know how I didn’t see him.
‘There were zero checks when we got back to the UK and we just drove straight off the ferry.’
During the two-hour drive to Worthing, the couple heard ‘repeated banging’, but put it down to their belongings becoming dislodged.
Mrs Marriott said: ‘More checks need to be made. It isn’t safe.
‘It doesn’t bear thinking about what it would have felt like to find a dead body there instead. The problem is getting worse.’
The incident happened on August 10, as Home Secretary Priti Patel was patrolling the Channel with the Royal Navy and vowing to stop dinghies full of migrants flocking across from France.