ARCHIVED - 500 stowaways break into lorries heading to the UK from Murcia every year

Some drivers are unwilling to travel to the UK for fear of being targeted by migrants

This is proving to be a difficult week for many lorry drivers based in the Region of Murcia, with hundreds of them seriously delayed by the barricades set up by Catalan separatist demonstrators on the motorway close to the French border on which they transport fruit and vegetables to northern Europe, and at the same time the Froet transport companies union is highlighting the problems caused by stowaways hiding on board HGVs crossing the English Channel into the UK.

In an average year trucks heading for the UK from Murcia are subjected to around 100 attacks every year in which some 500 people stow away in their cargoes as they attempt to gain entry into the UK, and in response a special security system is being perfected in order to protect against such assaults.

Costing 1,500 euros per vehicle, the system includes a pneumatic closure device which is linked to the braking system of the vehicle, complemented by a system which blocks the rear axles to make it impossible for the lorry to be stolen after being broken into. In addition, sensors detect any piercing of the walls or roof of the trailer, and another key feature is that the driver is exempted of all responsibility when the door opening and closure system is not operative. If a trailer or lorry is attacked three alarms go off.

Returning to the problem of the migrants, those clambering into trailers not only place their own lives at risk, they also greatly inconvenience the driver of the vehicle (who may be suspected of trafficking in migrants) and can cause severe damage to the legal cargo being transported.

This damage to the cargo alone averages out at approximately 30,000 euros per incident, and in consequence there are some drivers who are no longer willing to work the route, previously considered one of the most profitable for long-haul transport workers. Such reluctance is surely justified in the light of the recent discovery of 39 dead Vietnamese migrants in a lorry in Essex.

Addressing the topic, Manuel Perezcarro of Froet claims that the drivers are “helpless” in this situation and bemoans the continuing delay in the creation of secure parking areas on Europe’s motorway network for HGVs which are crossing the continent: rather than boarding refrigerated containers close to Calais, many migrants are now doing so far further south, exposing them to sub-zero temperatures for well over 12 hours before even reaching the UK.

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