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RHA warns: illegals usually attack drivers for food
Page 10
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Would-be illegal immigrants are attacking drivers — not for transport into the UK, but for food, claims the RHA. David Harris reports.
ATTACKS ON UK truck drivers in France by would-be illegal immigrants are more likely to be about theft than an effort to force drivers to take them on board,says the Road Haulage Association (RHA).
The suggestion that unauthorised immigrants were attacking drivers to coerce them into concealing them was made during a recent Sky News programme on the attacks.
But Peter Cullum, the RHA's head of international affairs, says the assaults are more likely to be prompted by other factors, such as getting food because they are hungry:"If illegal immigrants want to get onto a British truck to get into the UK they are going to try to do it without the driver noticing. The attacks that we have heard about on drivers in the last few months are usually about getting food, or something that they can sell to get food. It just wouldn't be logical to attack drivers to force them to let people stow away."
The Sky investigation revealed that of the 4,000 trucks which pass through Calais each day, around 70% are now checked by British staff.
One of the ways UK drivers can protect themselves from fines if immigrants are found in their vehicles is by following the Home Office code of conduct, which requires them to check their load and note down the time and details of the check on a special form.
Cullum says that although the form is a good system, drivers do not always fill it out and those who fail to do so should not be too harshly punished if they discover illegals and then tell the authorities: "The problem is that this is a disincentive for drivers to turn illegals in, because if they haven't followed the code they will be punished anyway.
"As the purpose of this is to stop illegal immigrants, not line drivers, we would like to see a system where drivers were not punished for reporting illegals on the first occasion if they hadn't filled out the form.
-If it happens again then a fine would be fair enough."
www.roadIrarisnor corn/cm