Monday, February 12, 2024 – School children were left shocked after they discovered two suspected migrants hiding under bags in the luggage compartment of their coach after they returned from a school trip to France.
Two men, thought to be in their early 20s, were found lying inside the hold as their bus arrived back at Hounsdown School, a Science College - in Southampton, Hampshire.
Mail Online reported that one of the men tried to run off when the door was opened, but was stopped by parents waiting to pick up their children.
Police were called to the incident but no arrests have been made. A spokesman said they were 'possibly illegal immigrants', but the Home Office has so far refused to clarify whether the two men had been detained or where they are.
One mother said she went into 'panic mode' and said 'excusez moi' to one of the men so she could reach past to get her child's bag.
Another said: 'My daughter came running over and she said 'there's people sat in where the suitcases are'.
'Obviously, it's quite concerning because there were 36 children on the coach and no one was aware that they were there'
The coach had been carrying children Year 9 and 10 pupils who had just come back from a three-day school trip visiting Boulogne University about 20 miles south of Calais.
The teachers and pupils had travelled home via the Eurotunnel at Calais, returning to Totton, near Southampton, on Saturday evening.
The children had been visiting Boulogne University about 20 miles from Calais.
The teachers and pupils had travelled home on the coach via the Eurotunnel at Calais, returning to Totton, near Southampton, on Saturday evening.
Student Scarlett Quinn told ITV she was shocked when she realised someone was in amongst the luggage, and he seemed 'comfy'.
She said: 'We got off the bus and the compartment was opened...then I see a man sat in the bottom.
'He was really calm, he was just sat staring at us and he seemed pretty comfy. Me and my friend were like 'oh my god, there's someone sat in there'.
She said that she saw their legs and then 'ran over to my mum', adding 'it was all just a bit of a shock really'.
One mother described the incident as 'horrendous', and it was said that one of the men tried to run off but was stopped by parents.
Describing the moment the men were found, the mother said: '[My son's] luggage was covered in urine and his belongings crumpled by one of the men being on top of it.
'I asked them (in French) if they spoke English or French and they replied French, I was about to ask them where they'd come from but got ushered away by the teachers.'
Following the discovery, she panicked and her only thought was to grab her 14-year-old son's baggage from the coach.
She said: 'The only way I can describe it is panic mode.
'My one aim was to get my child off the bus, and once I had I went back as I couldn't handle seeing kids being asked to take their baggage out of the hold.
'I just said 'excuse-moi' to the gent and leaned over him to get the rest of the bags out as my son's was tucked underneath him.'
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