Irish man (50s) arrested after 15 people discovered in back of lorry in Wiltshire in England

An Irish man in his fifties has been arrested after 15 people were discovered in the back of a lorry in south west England on Wednesday evening.
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The man, who was the driver of the vehicle, was arrested by police on suspicion of assisting illegal entry into the United Kingdom.

The lorry in which the 15 people were found is believed to be registered to company in County Cork.

All of the people found in the back of the lorry are between 16 and 30 years-old, according to police.

Police arrested the man shortly after 8:30pm on Wednesday. (Photo: File Image)Police arrested the man shortly after 8:30pm on Wednesday. (Photo: File Image)
Police arrested the man shortly after 8:30pm on Wednesday. (Photo: File Image)

The nationalities of all those found has not yet been confirmed.

Wiltshire Police Superintendent Steve Cox praised the member of the public who contacted police to report the incident.

"Members of the public would have noticed a large number of emergency services in the vicinity of the A350 last night while we dealt with this incident and the road was closed for approximately four hours while we carried out enquiries at the scene and recovery was arranged for the lorry, which was a hard-sided large goods vehicle.

"We are working closely with partner agencies as we conduct further enquiries - I fully understand that recent tragic events elsewhere in the country will mean there will be increased interest and heightened concern regarding this incident.

"I'd like to thank all emergency services who responded last night - as with all incidents, we didn't know the scale of what we would potentially be dealing with and all first responders showed true professionalism at the scene.

"I would also like to extend my thanks to the vigilant member of the public who initially reported this incident to us - it is thanks to them that this incident was resolved swiftly and safely with no serious casualties."

Last month, 39 dead bodies were discovered in a refrigertated lorry container in Grays, Essex.