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Essex Couple Who Found Stowaway in Bike Rack Cover Fined £1,500
The Guardian
|March 11, 2025
A couple who found a stowaway hidden on the back of their motorhome during their journey from France to Essex have been fined £1,500 by the Home Office.
Adrian and Joanne Fenton called police when they found the person zipped inside the cover of a bike rack after pulling up on their drive at their home in Heybridge. The couple had been travelling in France with friends and returned to the UK by ferry on 15 October.
Joanne Fenton, 55, said border officials in Calais and the UK had not inspected the bike rack or the cover before or after the crossing. They subsequently received a fine from the Home Office for failing to "check that no clandestine entrant was concealed" in the motorhome, which the couple said they are appealing against.
This story is from the March 11, 2025 edition of The Guardian.
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