Nine people found in back of a lorry on M20

23 October 2019, 18:34

Motorists are stuck in standstill traffic on the M20 after police were called to reports of people found in the back of a lorry
Motorists are stuck in standstill traffic on the M20 after police were called to reports of people found in the back of a lorry. Picture: Google Maps

By Sylvia DeLuca

Kent Police says nine people have been found in the back of a refrigerated truck travelling on the London-bound carriageway of the M20.

Police were alerted to reports of people in the back of a lorry at 3.40pm.

The migrants were found alive after officers stopped the lorry on the carriageway between junctions nine and eight, just after Ashford.

A Kent Police spokesperson said: "Nine people are now being checked as a precaution by the South East Coast Ambulance Service before they are passed to Home Office immigration officers."

Highways England said there were "severe delays" on the westbound between Junction 9 and Junction 8.

The discovery comes after 39 bodies were found in the back of a refrigerated trailer at 1.40am this morning at at Waterglade Industrial Park in Grays.

The 25-year old driver, Mo Robinson from Northern Ireland, was arrested on suspicion of murder after the discovery.