This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

A suspected illegal immigrant is understood to have walked almost the entire length of the 31-mile (50km) Channel tunnel from France before being apprehended by Kent police close to the tunnel exit at Folkestone.

The man, who is a Sudanese national, was detected inside the tunnel less than 1km from the Folkestone terminal at 6.13pm on Tuesday.



Kent police said in a statement: “Kent police officers investigating an incident where a man was located in the Channel tunnel near to its exit at the Folkestone terminal at 6.13pm on 4 August have charged a man.



“Abdul Rahman Haroun, 40, of no fixed abode, has been charged with causing an obstruction to an engine or carriage using the railway under the Malicious Damage Act 1861.”

He was due to appear at Medway magistrates court on Thursday.



Immigration enforcement officers from the Home Office are also investigating the incident in a separate inquiry.



Eurotunnel’s detection systems had identified an intrusion near the tunnel entrance in France early on Tuesday. As soon as the alarm was raised, Eurotunnel closed the French entrance and police were called to conduct a search.



The search of the area was a detailed and necessarily lengthy procedure, which put customer, staff and intruder safety as the highest priority, Eurotunnel said.



The man was intercepted in one of the two railway tunnels, rather than the service tunnel which runs through the middle. He was arrested by the Channel tunnel police and a full service through the tunnel was resumed in the late afternoon.

A spokesman for Eurotunnel said a full investigation into the incident had been launched. “A criminal intrusion into the Channel tunnel is an extremely rare incident. It is both illegal and highly dangerous.” he said. “This person could have been seriously injured or killed.”

“Eurotunnel hopes that the full force of the law will be used to demonstrate that an attempt to enter the Channel tunnel poses not only a significant risk of injury or death, but also precludes any possibility of entering the UK to claim asylum or to find work.”



Facebook Twitter Pinterest A lorry driver who suspects there are migrants inside his vehicle calls the police, who find around a dozen people on board

There have been thousands of attempts this summer by migrants to try and get on to shuttle trains at the terminal near Calais. At least nine people have died trying to cross to Britain during the crisis, which has placed UK police and social services under huge strain.



David Cameron was briefed by ministers and officials on the latest measures to tackle the Channel crossings crisis and the government would continue to work very closely with the authorities in France, a No 10 spokeswoman said.

“This morning, the PM held a meeting with minsters, senior officials, Border Force and the National Crime Agency to discuss progress on improving security at the Channel tunnel at Coquelles and alleviating disruption in Kent,” she said.

She added that, following Monday’s Cobra emergency committee, “a series of measures have been introduced in Coquelles in close collaboration with the French authorities, including new fencing, extra dog-search teams and security guards, and Border Force access to the control room, alongside the police reinforcements that the French authorities have put in place”.



A former British ambassador to France warned there was no “magic solution”. Sir John Holmes, who held the post between 2001 and 2007, said the situation at the port was part of a wider influx of people into Europe from the Middle East and North Africa.



Nightly incursions by migrants and blockades by striking ferry staff in northern France have led to UK haulage firms incurring huge losses.

Kent county council has admitted it has no more foster beds available to accommodate unaccompanied asylum-seeking children arriving in the county.

Kent’s police and crime commissioner, Ann Barnes, said the government has agreed to meet all extra costs linked to the policing of Operation Stack and dealing with suspected illegal immigrants.

She said: “It’s only right and proper that the extra money Kent police spends to deal with this national civil emergency comes from central government coffers and not from our local policing budget.

“I am very pleased the Home Office recognises this because the force is having to look after every single penny because of past, present and future cuts to police funding.”