Caravan Stopped With Human Filth ‘Seeping Out The Exterior’

Three men have been jailed for almost 14 years for attempting to smuggle seven illegal migrants into Hull in revolting and inhumane conditions.

Officers stopped the hired Ford caravan at King George Dock and investigated further inside, what they discovered next was shocking.

The toilet was “brim-full with human excrement, seeping into the adjacent carpet and seeping out of the exterior of the van” the court heard.

The caravan looked like it had been used as an ashtray with multiple cigarette butts scattered all over the place along with food and drink cartons and the awful stench of body odour.

Judge David Tremberg said: "Even a superficial examination of the vehicle would have been sufficient to arouse the suspicion of any self-respecting border officer."

The seven immigrants found inside the caravan, six Iraqis and one Iranian, were ridden with flu-like symptoms and feeling very ill, they all required medical treatment.

The immigrants who had been picked up in Spain had all applied for asylum in the UK, however, it was unknown as to whether they had been successful or not.

The van was carrying nine men in total and was only made to sleep four adults.

The driver Stephen Munn, aged 61, and Davinder Dhillon, aged 31, both denied any wrongdoing but were convicted of conspiracy to facilitate a breach of immigration law on Friday after a five-day trial. Both men were jailed for five years.

George Smith, aged 58, was the front seat passenger when the motorhome was pulled over, admitted the same offence and was jailed for almost four years.

The judge told the trio: "You were trading in human desperation and misery for profit. There was no evidence any of the seven represented a threat to the security of the UK, but you couldn't have cared less whether they did."

The judge said, "deterrence" had to be a "significant feature" when sentencing such cases.