EXCLUSIVE Moment two illegal immigrants are discovered in wheel arches of coach packed with Brit schoolchildren returning from France
Peering out from under a wheel arch on the side of a motorway, this is the moment two illegal immigrants were discovered hiding under a coach packed with British schoolchildren returning from France.
The men, who are believed to have climbed into a void behind the tyres when the bus stopped at a beach near Calais, were accused of 'bullsh**ing' about their ages by the hero driver when they claimed to be children themselves.
One of the suspects arrested by police had apparently said initially he was 20-years-old before correcting himself and saying he was 17.
The stowaways were discovered on the M11 in Essex last Friday night after they started banging and cheering from under the coach when they realised they were in the UK.
The coach was carrying home around 50 schoolchildren aged between 11 and 12 on their end of year 7 trip to Europe.
Speaking to MailOnline anonymously, one parent at the school said that the driver and teachers heard some noise from under the front of the bus.
'They heard a knock. It was like a knock at the door. And then something like cheering', the mother said.
'They then tried to start pulling over and the wheels touched a bit of the gravel on the floor, which then got spat up by your wheels. They heard someone shouting "hey" and then they knew there was someone stowed away under the coach'.
The two young men were arrested on the side of the M11 after a teacher called the police after banging and cheering was heard below the coach
A teacher at the school then called the police who apparently encouraged the driver to slow down to around 45mph and travel along the hard shoulder to the nearest services, Birchanger, at junction 8 of the M11 south of Cambridge.
MailOnline's parent insider said: 'The poor driver was in a terrible situation, if he slowed down too much, there was a chance they would either get out and get caught in the wheels and die'.
They added: 'It would have been death and carnage - and the kids were going to see that and be scarred for life'.
A Highways Agency patrol saw the coach driving on the hard shoulder and demanded the driver pull over and stop.
The driver complied having apparently turned up the music from the coach's stereo to hide the noise from the 11 and 12-year-olds on board.
He also asked the students to pull the curtains over the windows.
The parent of a child on board said of the driver: 'He was amazing. The kids had no clue'.
He got out of the bus and looked under the front wheel arch and saw the migrant inside.
'He apparently asked: "Where are you from? Where are you from?" The migrant understood English and then said "France".
'He then asked: "How old are you? He said: "20 no, no. I mean 17. 17. I'm 17".
'The driver then told him: "You're bullsh**ting".
The police arrived and then arrested the two men and took them into custody. The coach went on to the local services but no other stowaways were found.
Another parent said: 'Because of the hold-up to arrest the migrants, they didn't get back until well after 11 pm. It's a total shock because they could have been any two people. Thankfully they did not try to do anything, but I feel uneasy knowing they were close to my child'.
The incident came days after 13 migrants were seen running from a lorry in Charlton, south-east London close to a Sainsbury's supermarket.
The Home Office said an investigation is underway into how the two migrants got under the coach.
A spokesman said: 'We are relentless in our pursuit of people-smuggling gangs and stand ready to respond to all methods, including coaches and other clandestine routes, using a wide range of techniques and technology to protect our border security'.
An Essex Police spokesman added: 'We were alerted to concerns for the welfare of two people discovered under a bus on the M11 near Stansted on Friday evening.
'Officers were called out to a rest stop shortly before 10 pm. One person has been taken into police custody, while one is being referred to social care'.
Recent figures revealed that 5,874 illegal immigrants were discovered trying to get to Britain via ports at Calais and Dunkirk and the Channel Tunnel in Coquelles.
This figure for 2024 was 22 per cent higher than the 4,794 in 2023.
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