Ferry point to UK: refugee arrests double over whole of 2014

The number of refugees that has been arrested while trying to travel from Hoek van Holland to Britain is already as high as the number arrested throughout the whole of 2014. In the first 5 months of this year, 160 stowaways have been found while making the crossing - either in the Netherlands or in Britain, NRC reports based on figures from the Ministry of Security and Justice. Stowaways have been found trying to hide in trucks, trailers and containers during the crossing to the English seaside. Some were also found trying to climb over the fence of the ferry operator or lying on the axles of a truck. The increase can partly be attributed to the tighter controls carried out in the French city of Calais, where truck drivers have a lot of trouble with refugees sneaking into trucks in an attempt to reach Britain. Last week the British police found 68 stowaways, including 15 children and 2 pregnant woman, hiding in four trucks that had been transported on a ferry from Hoek van Holland. The same evening, the Koninklijke Marechaussee found 8 stowaways in Hoek van Holland. They were hiding in a truck that was on its way to Harwich.