{"id":613,"date":"2025-03-10T15:32:56","date_gmt":"2025-03-10T16:32:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/?p=613"},"modified":"2025-03-11T23:08:17","modified_gmt":"2025-03-11T23:08:17","slug":"couple-fined-1500-after-finding-migrant-hidden-in-bike-rack-after-channel-crossing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/10\/couple-fined-1500-after-finding-migrant-hidden-in-bike-rack-after-channel-crossing\/","title":{"rendered":"Couple fined \u00a31,500 after finding migrant hidden in bike rack after Channel crossing"},"content":{"rendered":"
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class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__related-video-placeholder-thumbnail\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__related-video-placeholder-headline\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__related-video-placeholder\">\n<div class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__related-video-placeholder-thumbnail\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__related-video-placeholder-headline\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\t\t\twindow.addEventListener(‘metroVideo:relatedVideosCarouselLoaded’, function(data) {<br \/>\n\t\t\t\tif (typeof(data.detail) === ‘undefined’ || typeof(data.detail.carousel) === ‘undefined’ || typeof(data.detail.carousel.el_) === ‘undefined’) {<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\treturn;<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t}<br \/>\n\t\t\t\tvar player = data.detail.carousel.el_;<br \/>\n\t\t\t\tvar container = player.closest(‘.metro-video-player’);<br \/>\n\t\t\t\tvar placeholder = container.querySelector(‘.metro-video-player__up-next-placeholder’);<br \/>\n\t\t\t\tcontainer.removeChild(placeholder);<br \/>\n\t\t\t\tcontainer.classList.add(‘metro-video-player–related-videos-loaded’);<br \/>\n\t\t\t});<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>A couple unpacking their motorhome after a holiday in <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/tag\/france\/\" data-track=\"inline-tag-auto-link_article\">France<\/a> found more than they bargained for \u2013 and have now been fined \u00a31,500 for their unexpected hitchhiker.<\/p>\n<p>Adrian and Joanne Fenton returned home to Heybridge in <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/tag\/essex\/\" data-track=\"inline-tag-auto-link_article\">Essex<\/a> on October 15 after holidaying in France with friends.<\/p>\n<p>But when they opened up the bike rack on the back of their motorhome, which was covered with a fabric cover, they found a man clinging on to the bikes inside.<\/p>\n<p>The man claimed to be a 16-year-old from <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/tag\/sudan\/\" data-track=\"inline-tag-auto-link_article\">Sudan<\/a>, and the Fentons immediately called the police.<\/p>\n<p>Despite their swift action, the couple have now been fined \u00a31,500 by the Home Office because they failed to \u2018check that no clandestine entrant was concealed\u2019 in their motorhome.<\/p>\n<p>The Fentons hope to appeal the fine, arguing that the migrant was not inside their motorhome but clinging to the outside, but Joanne is concerned the appeal could be a waste of time and money.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"646\" height=\"500\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"article-image wp-image-22701985 lazyload\" alt=\"Pic Shows;Adrian And Joanne Fenton Of Heybridge in Essex Story On Migrant stowing away in there bike on the rear of there Motorhome. Jo and Adrian pickup there Motorhome ?? Jim Bennett\/\/07836225329\" loading=\"lazy\" data-src=\"http:\/\/softnary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/SEI_243310693-c8fc-e1741624139294.jpg\">\t<\/div><figcaption>Adrian And Joanne Fenton did not expect to find a stowaway in their bike rack (Picture: Jim Bennett)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Speaking <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/articles\/c17q9lrl57ro\">to the BBC<\/a>, Joanne described the moment they uncovered the migrant: \u2018[My husband] goes to take the bikes off and as he unzips and unlocks the cover, which is really tight, he sees two trainers and suddenly he thinks to himself \u201cI haven\u2019t left any trainers on here\u201d and then he sees there are two legs attached to it.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018He then called me, and I was at the front unloading and said, \u201cJoanne you need to call the police, we have a stowaway\u201d.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>The Fentons say they have no idea when the stowaway climbed onto their bike rack during their six-hour drive and ferry trip home.<\/p>\n<p>Border officials in both Calais and the UK failed to spot him when they inspected the motorhome before and after the English Channel crossing.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"564\" height=\"642\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"article-image wp-image-22701943 lazyload\" alt=\"Couple Adrian and Joanne Fenton who found migrant clinging to their motorhome after crossing the channel are FINED ?1,500 by Home Office https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/joanne.fenton.10\/posts\/pfbid0dvhW1FZy6SSDfa8e46edwXrAM8aNicR1RtqZqUQ78w3VHqDyP7siTKytYW9bxDEXl?locale=en_GB\" loading=\"lazy\" data-src=\"http:\/\/softnary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/SEI_243304024-1aef-e1741624204394.jpg\">\t<\/div><figcaption>The couple immediately called the police and the man was arrested (Picture: Jim Bennett)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Describing her response to being fined, Joanne said: \u2018I\u2019m so angry and it\u2019s so frustrating because we have done the right thing.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018We have phoned the police. It\u2019s dangerous enough when you drive through France, and you can ask anyone who drives through France and comes up to the borders.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018These clandestines are everywhere. So, to stop and go outside and check your vehicle all the time is dangerous. How can you do that? It\u2019s on a bike rack. It\u2019s not internal.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>The couple didn\u2019t hear from the Home Office until December, around two months after they returned home and reported the migrant to the police.<\/p>\n<p>They were sent the \u00a31,500 fine by email, which said they had failed to \u2018check that no clandestine entrant was concealed in the vehicle\u2019.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"646\" height=\"540\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"article-image wp-image-22701987 lazyload\" alt=\"Pic Shows;Adrian And Joanne Fenton Of Heybridge in Essex Story On Migrant stowing away in there bike on the rear of there Motorhome. Migrant is arrested inside the Couples Garage. ?? Jim Bennett\/\/07836225329\" loading=\"lazy\" data-src=\"http:\/\/softnary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/SEI_243310689-0ee3-e1741624271330.jpg\">\t<\/div><figcaption>They made the discovery as they arrived home from their trip (Picture: Jim Bennett)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The email also said the \u2018entrant\u2019 was found by a searching officer, even though the couple say they called the police as soon as they found him.<\/p>\n<p>Joanne fears these fines could stop other people from \u2018doing the right thing\u2019 if they found themselves in a similar situation.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018How safe is it for the everyday holidaymaker to get out of their vehicle, whether they are towing a caravan, whether driving a van, whether driving a motor home?\u2019 she asked. <\/p>\n<p>\u2018How safe is it for us to keep getting out and checking that they are not grabbing underneath? It\u2019s impossible.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018We will appeal, but it sounds like we will not get anywhere. We will just be wasting more money and we are going to end up having to pay the fine.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018It\u2019s the legit people like my husband and I that are coming through and have done the right thing that are getting fined for it. Where is the justification in that?\u2019<\/p>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"646\" height=\"683\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"article-image wp-image-22701980 lazyload\" alt=\"Pic Shows;Adrian And Joanne Fenton Of Heybridge in Essex Story On Migrant stowing away in there bike on the rear of there Motorhome. The Migarant climbed onto the Bike rack .at the rear of the Motorhome. ?? Jim Bennett\/\/07836225329\" loading=\"lazy\" data-src=\"http:\/\/softnary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/SEI_243310811-8602.jpg\">\t<\/div><figcaption>Adrian initially thought he\u2019d left a pair of trainers in the bike cover (Picture: Jim Bennett)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The Home Office said penalties of up to \u00a310,000 were \u2018designed to target negligence rather than criminality\u2019 and that contacting the authorities is a \u2018huge mitigating factor\u2019.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>A spokesperson <a href=\"http:\/\/live-uk.andweb.dmgt.net\/news\/article-14480879\/Couple-police-finding-migrant-clinging-motorhome.html\">told MailOnline<\/a>: \u2018Responsible persons who have fully complied with the actions laid out in the carriers liability amendment regulations of 2023 will receive a reduced penalty. <\/p>\n<p>\u2018The scheme is designed to target negligence, rather than criminality.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018We would expect drivers who are actively involved in people smuggling to be investigated and prosecuted in the courts. <\/p>\n<p>\u2018Increased fines, new maximum penalty levels and a new penalty for failing to adequately secure a goods vehicle came into force on February 13, 2023, to prevent dangerous and illegal journeys to the UK.\u2019<\/p>\n<p class=\"\"><strong><strong><strong>Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"mailto:webnews@metro.co.uk\" target=\"_blank\">webnews@metro.co.uk<\/a>.<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"\"><strong>For more stories like this, <\/strong><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>check our news page<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>{“@context”:”https:\/\/schema.org”,”@type”:”VideoObject”,”name”:”Metro.co.uk”,”duration”:”T6S”,”thumbnailUrl”:”https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2025\/03\/10\/15\/96031133-0-image-a-77_1741620129740.jpg”,”uploadDate”:”2025-03-10T15:16:25+0000″,”description”:”Couple who found migrant hiding inside their bike rack after crossing the channel are shocked to be fined u00a31,500.”,”contentUrl”:”https:\/\/videos.metro.co.uk\/video\/met\/2025\/03\/10\/6210924992264846458\/640x360_MP4_6210924992264846458.mp4″,”height”:640,”width”:360} To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Up Next Previous Page Next Page window.addEventListener(‘metroVideo:relatedVideosCarouselLoaded’, function(data) { if (typeof(data.detail) === ‘undefined’ || typeof(data.detail.carousel) === ‘undefined’ || […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":615,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-613","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uk"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/613","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=613"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/613\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":620,"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/613\/revisions\/620"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/615"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=613"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=613"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=613"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}