On October 15th last year Adrian and Joanne Fenton arrived home at Heybridge, Essex in their motor home, having completed a long drive from Calais via the channel ferry.
Arriving home, they started to unpack, with Mr. Fenton starting with off loading their bikes from the rack attached to the rear of their vehicle. On unzipping the waterproof cover, he was shocked to find a man, clinging to the rack.
Being a civic minded person he directed his wife to call the police, who duly arrived and detained the Sudanese stowaway. The Fenton were interviewed, and that was the end of the matter.
Wrong! Two months later, around Christmas, they got an email from the Home Office (HO) advising them that they were being fined £1500 for failing to “check that no clandestine entrant was concealed” in the motor home, despite the vehicle being inspected in Calais and the UK by Border Officials.
The email also stated that the “entrant” had been found by an authorised search officer. What? So retired firefighters are authorised search officers for the Border Force now?
The Fentons are drafting an appeal, but don’t hold out much hope of the fine being cancelled, although I personally hope it is.
So, a couple of points, other than that the HO are utter cunts.
In similar circumstances, knowing what they do now, would the Fentons ( and others) just bung the “entrant” some cash and give them a lift to the train station, rather than ring the police.
How many £1500s have the RNLI had to pay for failing to check that the dinghy occupants were “entrants”?
Nominated by : Jeezum Priest