Suspected child migrants in care of social workers after group found on M6 lorry
Suspected child migrants are being cared for by social workers after a group were found in the back of a lorry stopped on the M6.
The group of 27 migrants, which authorities believe included four people under the age of 18, were discovered between junctions 15 and 16 last night.
Staffordshire Police detained the group after stopping the vehicle near Cannock, at 5.45pm.
Officers were responding to concerns for people travelling in the back of the vehicle and after stopping the lorry a number of people fled, causing the busy motorway to come to a standstill.
The Central Motorway Police Group also confirmed on Twitter, in response to public backlash over closing the M6, that there was possibly a second lorry that was never found.
Today Staffordshire County Council confirmed the four children were being cared for by social workers.
The group are among 200 unaccompanied asylum seeking children to be found on the M6 in Staffordshire in the last five years.
Philip Atkins, Leader of Staffordshire County Council, said: “Staffordshire County Council has a dedicated team of specialists who are supporting these young people today.
“We have a duty to look after these young people and our priority is to ensure they are safe and well and treated appropriately for their age while they are assessed.
“In the last five years almost 200 unaccompanied asylum seeking children have been found along the M6 corridor in Staffordshire. They are usually very hungry, tired and unkempt after being in a lorry for a long time, and frightened and anxious.
“More needs to be done to help stop children making these perilous journeys and risking their lives, but in the meantime we have a duty to protect and support all children in our care.”
The driver, a 42-year-old man, was arrested of facilitating the illegal entry of persons unknown to the UK and he remains in custody at Watling Street police station while enquires are on-going.
The incident led to hours of delays on the motorway with some of those affected being Staffordshire football fans travelling north to watch Burton Albion play Manchester City.
Deputy Chief Constable Nick Baker, said: “We recognise the disruption this has caused to road users and we’d like to thank the public for their patience and co-operation. We were acting on information where there was real concern for people in distress and therefore it was necessary for us to take immediate and appropriate action.
“The response to this incident has involved multiple forces, agencies and partners and I’d like to thank those organisations for their help and assistance.”
Officers from Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service and West Midlands Ambulance Service were also in attendance and assisted with the unfolding events.
A West Midlands Ambulance spokeswoman said: “West Midlands Ambulance Service can confirm that Staffordshire Police requested our assistance at a police operation on the M6 between junctions 15 and 16 in Staffordshire yesterday evening. Three paramedic officers, a BASICS emergency doctor and two ambulance crews were responded.
“A total of 27 occupants from a vehicle which was stopped by the police received medical assessments on scene by ambulance staff. All were in a stable condition and didn’t require hospital treatment. All 27 patients were discharged on scene and left in the care of the police.”
'Delays'
The M6 was closed in both directions throughout the incident, leading to hours of delays for commuters.
Some of those badly affected were Burton Albion fans who were travelling for their semi-final Carabao Cup showdown.
Hundreds of fans missed the game in what was a historic moment for the Staffordshire club.
Alistair Greenbank, who was driving from Lichfield to meet his wife at City's Etihad Stadium, told reporters he reached the ground at about 22:10. Kick-off was 19:45.
"I was getting these pictures of the empty seats next to her", he said. "You just had to sit, there was nothing more you could do."
Andrew Heartshorn, also travelling from Lichfield, told reporters: "Basically we crawled and crawled before coming to a standstill.
"You were just looking at the sat-nav predicting what time you were going to arrive, and I could see it all slipping away."
