A lorry driver was arrested after police found 18 suspected illegal immigrants stowed in the back of his vehicle.

The lorry was stopped by police after a passing motorist grew suspicious and called 999 while driving on the M25 in Hertfordshire yesterday.

Officers flagged down the lorry near to St Albans and found 18 Vietnamese men inside.

All of the men were arrested on suspicion of entering the UK illegally, and the driver was arrested on suspicion of assisting illegal entry to the UK.

A spokesman for Hertfordshire Police said: "Police were called shortly after 4pm on August 8 following reports of suspicious activity on a lorry on the M25 in Hertfordshire.

"The member of the public who made the call followed the lorry which made its way on to the M1 before police stopped it close to Junction 9 of the M1.

"Eighteen people who are believed to have entered the UK illegally on the lorry were taken into custody for their safety.

"The driver of the lorry, a 40-year-old man from Poland, has been arrested on suspicion of assisting people entering the UK unlawfully."