A couple who discovered a migrant had clung to the back of their vehicle all the way home from France have been issued a £1,500 fine.
On October 15, 2023, Mr. and Mrs. Fenton, returning home to Heybridge, Essex, after a trip to France, made a shocking discovery when unloading their motorhome. Mr. Fenton began removing the bikes from the back of the vehicle and unzipped the cover of the bike rack. He was surprised to find a Sudanese migrant clinging to the vehicle. As Mrs. Fenton explained, “He goes to take the bikes off and as he unzips and unlocks the cover, which is really tight, he sees two trainers and suddenly he thinks to himself ‘I haven’t left any trainers on here’ and then he sees there are two legs attached to it.”
Realizing the danger, Mr. Fenton immediately called his wife, saying, “Joanne you need to call the police, we have a stowaway.” The Fentons then contacted the authorities, with Mrs. Fenton noting, “It’s dangerous enough when you drive through France, and you can ask anyone who drives through France and comes up to the borders. These clandestines are everywhere.” She added, “How can you do that? It’s on a bike rack. It’s not internal.”
After Adrian and Joanne Fenton found a migrant in a bike rack bag on the back of their campervan, police were dispatched to Heybridge, Essex.
The migrant was latched on to the bike rack, under the covers, for a six-hour journey from France to Essex 
The couple had no idea when or how the migrant had boarded their motorhome. They had crossed the Channel via ferry, and neither French nor UK border officials had spotted the migrant during vehicle inspections. After discovering the individual, Mrs. Fenton offered him a bottle of water, to which he responded, “thank you.” The migrant, who said he was 16 and from Sudan, only had a mobile phone with him.
Months later, the Fentons were shocked to receive an email from the Home Office notifying them of a fine for failing to “check that no clandestine entrant was concealed in the vehicle.” Mrs. Fenton was angered by the penalty, describing it as “exceptionally unfair.” She said, “I’m so angry and it’s so frustrating because we have done the right thing.” The Home Office also stated that the “entrant was found by an authorised search officer,” though the Fentons contended they had called the police immediately.
The fine, which can be as high as £10,000 in some cases, was based on asylum and immigration laws. Mrs. Fenton planned to challenge it, but she feared the appeal process would cost them even more. She said, “We will appeal, but it sounds like we will not get anywhere. We will just be wasting more money and we are going to end up having to pay the fine.”
She also raised concerns about the safety of travelers, questioning how they could be expected to regularly check their vehicles for stowaways. “How safe is it for the everyday holidaymaker to get out of their vehicle, whether they are towing a caravan, whether driving a van, whether driving a motorhome. How safe is it for us to keep getting out and checking that they are not grabbing underneath? It’s impossible.”
The Home Office defended the fine, explaining that penalties were intended to target negligence rather than criminality. A spokesperson added, “Responsible persons who have fully complied with the actions laid out in the carriers liability amendment regulations of 2023 will receive a reduced penalty.” The spokesperson emphasized that penalties aim to prevent dangerous and illegal journeys to the UK. Despite this, the Fentons were frustrated by the system and feared it would discourage people from reporting similar incidents in the future.
Daily Mail/BBC
