THREE Eritrean nationals were caught trying to smuggle themselves into the UK by hiding in the back of a lorry containing pasta which was heading to Wisbech.

They were discovered by sniffer dogs at Dunkirk last Thursday as part of a UK Border Agency crackdown, which found 18 stowaways hiding inside five separate lorry loads of household goods in just four days.

Carole Upshall, the UK Border Agency’s Director for European Operations, said: “Finds such as these highlight the desperate measures some people will take to try and get to Britain and the determination and expertise required by UK Border Agency officers to stay one step ahead of illegal immigration.”

The week’s first discovery was last Wednesday at Calais when officers examined a Polish registered freight vehicle, after a sniffer dog picked up a human scent.

Five Vietnamese men were found hiding among a load of BMW car parts heading to Bracknell, Berkshire.

The next day the three Eritrean nationals were found heading to Wisbech, and then 10 minutes later a search of another lorry found two Eritran nationals and one Sudanese national in a load of dog biscuits going to Leicester.

On Saturday, back in Calais, a dog searching a Latvian lorry packed with vacuum cleaners heading to Milton Keynes discovered one Eritrean and one Sri Lankan.

All the men found were removed and passed to the French authorities and the vehicles allowed to continue on their journey to the UK. All drivers and hauliers may now be liable to a fine.