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Page last updated at 13:59 GMT, Sunday, 1 February 2009

Immigrants 'bound for UK in bins'

An immigrant at the port of Calais
The men were found before they were able to board a ferry

A group of suspected illegal immigrants has been found trying to enter the UK hidden in wheelie bins.

A sniffer dog used by the UK Border Agency discovered the 10 men hidden inside bins on a lorry in the French port of Calais on Friday.

The nine Eritreans and an Afghan were found on a Bulgarian-registered lorry bound for Calderdale, West Yorkshire.

Lois, an 18-month-old male springer spaniel, found the men before the lorry could board a cross-Channel ferry.

A UK Border Agency spokesman said: "We have hundreds of UK Border Agency officers based at ports in France and Belgium, working to stop illegal immigrants before they get to the UK.

"In addition to searches with body detection dogs such as Lois, we also use carbon dioxide detectors and heart beat detectors to find well hidden stowaways."

The men were then handed over to French authorities.

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