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This is the moment seven migrants are discovered hiding in the back of a lorry as traffickers begin to favour smuggling people via lorries instead of small boats.
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traffickers → see → lorries
In the video, police surround the rear of a yellow lorry parked at around 3.25pm on Britannia Road in Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire, on Thursday.
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police → surround → Thursday
A man wearing a high-vis orange vest opens the doors as officers repeatedly ask members of the public to stop filming the incident.
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officers → wear → incident
One bystander could be heard muttering, 'What is going on?', before men, believed to be migrants, begin crawling from the vehicle.
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men → hear → vehicle
Men, wearing tracksuits and hooded jackets, can be seen clambering down from a height within the lorry as officers wait for them to reach the ground.
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them → wear → ground
Hertfordshire Police has since confirmed seven people were found in the lorry and later detained.
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people → confirm → lorry
The driver, a man in his 30s, has been arrested on suspicion of facilitating illegal entry.
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driver → arrest → entry
It comes as security sources say there has been an increase in migrants setting their sights on lorries and other vehicles instead of small boats in a bid to reach the UK.
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migrants → come → UK
Some are trying to jump into moving lorries or even slice through roofs of vehicles in a bid to get to Britain undetected.
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Some → try → Britain
Men, believed to be migrants and wearing tracksuits and hooded jackets, can be seen clambering down from a height within the lorry as officers wait for them to reach the ground
Hertfordshire Police has since confirmed seven people were found in the lorry and later detained
It comes as more beach patrols, coupled with bad weather, have seen a 45 per cent reduction in those arriving by small boat compared to this time last year.
However, recent figures also indicate more than 200,000 migrants have arrived in the UK via the English Channel since 2018.
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migrants → believe → 2018
In 2025, 5,874 vehicle-borne stowaways were detected by authorities in French ports, rising from 4,794 in 2023, according to the BBC.
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stowaways → bear → BBC
Border Force relied on intelligence-led screening rather than every single vehicle entering the UK being checked manually.
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vehicle → rely → UK
A source told GB News: 'Despite the understandable focus on the boats crisis, attempts by migrants to board UK-bound lorries and other vehicles has never gone away.
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attempts → tell → lorries
It's not the major crisis it was almost a decade ago before the smugglers switched much of their attention to the use of dinghies, but it remains a persistent problem.'
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it → switch → dinghies
Another insider said it is not known how many illegal migrants make it to British shores.
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migrants → say → shores
If undetected both in France and on arrival to the UK, they will likely 'exit the vehicle at some point and disappear off undetected by the authorities,' they added.
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they → exit → authorities
'And we can only know what we know; if they slip through, we've no idea how many might have managed that.'
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many → know → that
Last May, figures showed more than 200,000 migrants have arrived in the UK after crossing the English Channel since 2018.
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migrants → show → 2018
Just over a third of this number arrived since Labour took power in July 2024, according to analysis of Government data.
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Labour → arrive → data
The remaining two-thirds made the journey under the Conservative governments of the previous four prime ministers.
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thirds → remain → ministers
That data is based on official statistics from 2018 to 2025 and provisional figures recorded so far this year.
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data → base → 2025
Successive governments have tried to work with France to disrupt crossings and have revised asylum rules to deter migrants.
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governments → try → migrants
In April, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood signed a three-year agreement with French authorities to pay £662million to support beach patrols.
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Mahmood → sign → patrols
Ms Mahmood is seeking to overhaul the asylum system to deter crossings and deport people more easily, including proposed changes to make refugee status temporary.
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status → seek → changes
Under the current Labour government, ministers scrapped the Conservatives' multimillion-pound deal to send migrants who crossed the Channel from France to Rwanda.
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who → scrap → Rwanda
Just four volunteers were sent before the policy was ditched.
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policy → send → ?
But the move has prompted a legal battle with the east African nation seeking to sue Britain for more than £100million claiming it has breached the terms of the agreement and is owed money - something lawyers for the UK deny.
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lawyers → prompt → UK
A police spokesperson said 'Police were contacted at around 3.25pm on Thursday 17 September to report concerns about a lorry in Britannia Road, Waltham Cross.'
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Police → say → Road
'Officers attended the scene and seven people were located inside.
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people → attend → scene
'All seven have been detained.
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seven → detain → ?
The driver of the lorry, a man aged in his 30s, has been arrested on suspicion of facilitating illegal entry.
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driver → arrest → entry
Officers are working closely with the immigration service.
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Officers → work → service
'
The Daily Mail has approached the Home Office for comment.
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Mail → approach → comment
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