BRITISH lorry drivers will find themselves in a farcical no-win situation if a Bill to curb the flood of illegal refugees becomes law. Clayton-le-Moors driver Jack Bennison found two men, thought to be Kosovars, hiding in his truck after hearing noises.

Like a good citizen he reported the matter to the authorities and was then warned he could face charges.

What idiotic thinking.

We said when this Bill was first aired that the section which held drivers responsible for stowaways was nonsense.

If it goes through it will encourage law-abiding drivers to dump refugees anywhere they can in order to avoid prosecution.

No matter how much care drivers take before embarking on a cross-channel ferry, desperate refugees are capable of finding a space on or under a truck.

How can the government possibly contemplate bringing down the heavy hand of the law on drivers who have already been taken advantage of?

Such measures will result in more illegal refugees arriving in Britain.

The Home Office have got it wrong - and they must think again.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.