Luton police station is put into lockdown over migrant disease scare after Iraqi refugees who were found crammed in back of lorry fall ill at the same time
- It was feared illegal immigrants found sneaking into UK in a lorry had contagious diseases
- Paramedics called to take them to hospital after they complained of headaches and began vomiting
- They were also concerned the migrants could have contaminated officers
- It meant police were unable to investigate the driver or deal with any other criminals
A
police station was placed under quarantine amid fears that illegal
immigrants discovered sneaking into Britain in the back of a lorry had
contagious diseases.
In
chaotic scenes, paramedics were called to take the migrants to hospital
after they complained of headaches and began vomiting while being held.
But
fearing the Iraqis had brought in an infectious disease, the paramedics
declared a 'major incident' and placed Luton police station on
lockdown.
They
were also concerned the migrants, who had been crammed like sardines in
the back of the lorry, could have contaminated officers in the custody
suite.
Paramedics were called to take the migrants (pictured) to hospital after they complained of headaches and began vomiting
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It
meant police were unable to investigate the driver overnight or deal
with any other criminals coming in to custody. Officers were also
ordered not to leave the station when their shift ended at midnight.
Incredibly,
the lorry driver – a Romanian, who was arrested – could not be charged
because border guards did not check his lorry at Dover. With police
unable to prove that the migrants had arrived from the Continent, the
haulier had to be set free.
The extraordinary situation was exposed in a new series of 24 Hours in Police Custody, which starts on Channel 4 this evening.
In
the documentary, Bedfordshire Police allows TV crews unprecedented
access to follow officers but the latest episode highlights the damaging
consequences of the Border Force's failure to carry out security checks
on all lorries arriving in the UK.
The
programme begins with horrified officers finding 15 migrants, including
a mother and her daughters aged five and three, crammed in the back of a
filthy refrigerated lorry at Toddington services on the M1.
Fearing the Iraqis had brought in an
infectious disease, the paramedics declared a ‘major incident’ and
placed Luton police station on lockdown
It was feared the illegal immigrants discovered sneaking into Britain in the back of a lorry (pictured) had contagious diseases
They
were called after banging was heard in the trailer. The migrants, who
have been travelling for 17 hours in temperatures of two degrees, are
taken to three different police stations across Bedfordshire.
But
investigations are abandoned when they start complaining of headaches
and fever. They are ordered to put on face masks and the station goes
into lockdown.
The
migrants are subsequently taken to hospital for tests but Luton police
station is closed for hours and placed under quarantine.
Eventually
the hospital declares it safe to return the migrants to custody after
it is found they had fallen ill from carbon monoxide poisoning caused by
lorry fumes.
Luton
Custody Sergeant Darren Turney tells the programme makers: 'The whole
immigration thing is such a big issue. It drains our resources. Police
officers are down the hospital, it takes all our cell space up and it's
nothing to do with us.'
Investigating
officer Nash Hussain is left in despair after discovering that the
driver was not stopped at Dover. 'They signalled him straight through,'
she says.
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