THREE Afghan children have been detained after being found hiding in a lorry in Stowmarket, it emerged today.

THREE Afghan children have been detained after being found hiding in a lorry in Stowmarket, it emerged today.

It is understood the trio, two aged 17 and one just 13, boarded the vehicle in Spain before it entered the UK.

Authorities were alerted after the illegal immigrants were found in the lorry when it arrived at PPG Industries, based in Needham Road, Stowmarket.

A police spokeswoman said officers were called to the firm at shortly after 1pm yesterday.

She said all three of the children claimed to be from Afghanistan and were booked in to custody at Bury St Edmunds police station before being passed on to immigration officers.

A UK Border Agency spokesman said: “Three Afghan males were detained in Stowmarket and were swiftly transferred to our specialist teams of officers.

“We will remove those with no right to remain in the UK.

“We are using state-of-the-art detection technology, fining lorry drivers who fail to secure their vehicles properly, and working closely with port authorities, airlines and shipping companies to clamp down on illegal entry into the UK.

“We are removing someone every eight minutes.”

In June The Evening Star revealed rising numbers of Afghan children are being smuggled into Suffolk in a disturbing off-shoot of the war on terror.

Desperate to flee the war-ravaged country, more than 23 Afghan children - some as young as 11 - were taken into care by Suffolk County Council in the period between July 2007 and June 2008.

n. Is enough done to prevent illegal immigration in the UK? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk