Equestrians returning from the Continent have been urged to be vigilant after migrants got into a horsebox in Belgium and emerged at the rider’s home in Essex.
Showjumper Alex Bishop was travelling home on his own, with five horses, on 7 December, when the incident occurred. Alex stopped for fuel about an hour’s drive from Calais and drove on without realising five people had climbed into the trailer towed behind his lorry.
“I do not frighten easily, but that frightened the life out of me,” Alex told H&H. “On the Eurotunnel, when you’ve got horses, you have your own section, shut in. I was in my own section with them; I went to the toilet and walked straight past the trailer, not knowing it was full of people.”
Alex said he never stops close to Calais, nor leaves a lorry unattended. But the self-service machine would not accept his card so he had to go in to pay, which is when the migrants must have climbed into the trailer. He drove on to Calais, then headed for home.
“When we were on the M20, a car came up, flashing its lights and the hazards were on, then they pulled out in front and slowed right down with their hazards on,” Alex said.
“I think the people in the trailer were opening the jockey door, trying to get the attention of drivers to make me stop so they could get out on the M20.
“When I got home, about midnight, I stopped and rang Ronnie [Jones, Alex’s partner] to help me unhitch as the lane is pitch black. I got out and heard a slam, and saw the last person running off. I couldn’t see their faces, but they left tents, sleeping bags, a bag of nuts, toothpaste, biscuits, all their stuff when they had to get out quickly.”
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Trailer seized
Alex praised Essex Police; officers were on the scene within minutes, but neither a helicopter nor sniffer dogs could find any sign of the people.
“The police seized my trailer but they treated it as if we were victims, thankfully, not suspects, because I could have been in trouble,” Alex said.
“The police said recently, incidents like this have doubled, and they’re targeting horse lorries. You often get grooms’ doors or tack lockers unlocked so people can get in there, on the axles, behind the wind deflectors. They’ve broken bars on windows and cut locks off trailers.
“So the biggest message is to pull over before you go through and check, because you can get done. The police officer said if they found them, he’d have to arrest me. You can be fined £10,000 per person, plus you lose your vehicle.
“A freelance groom told me she got stopped a couple of months ago, there was a migrant on board and she was held for six hours in Calais with the horses while they interrogated her. Luckily, they didn’t press charges but it was a nightmare. So if my story potentially helps someone else avoid this trauma, it’s worth it.”
Caught on camera
Freelance international groom Ludo Langton also had people board his vehicle en route home with five horses.
“I stopped for diesel in Belgium, didn’t think anything of it, then looked at the camera to check the horses and saw two people sitting on my tack locker,” he told H&H. “I just kept going – they couldn’t get to me, but it felt like four hours till I got to Calais.”
Ludo told authorities, but no one would go in the lorry as the horses were on board.
“The police were awful; I had to go in – one migrant was underneath a horse – and the authorities said if it happened again, I could be fined,” he said. “But what was I supposed to do, stop on my own and try to get the people out?”
Ludo’s experience was a few years ago, but he said he has heard of other incidents recently, such as two riders whose ramp was taken down in traffic by migrants.
“I don’t have to drive on my own any more but I will not stop anywhere,” he says.
A spokesperson for Essex Police told H&H: “We are investigating reports of individuals concealed in a vehicle on Sunday, 7 December. Our enquiries are ongoing.”
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Eleanor is an experienced journalist who spent over eight years working for local and national newspapers before joining H&H as news editor in March 2016. Passionate about equine welfare and exposing the truth, Eleanor has reported on all aspects of the industry, from Brexit to anti-bullying campaigns, and from dressage rules to mules. Her sport of choice is showjumping, in which she competes her own horses, and she also enjoys reporting at local jumping shows through to international championships.
