Stowaways Found in Back of Lorry in Kent

Late last week, police in Kent were called to investigate a suspicious HGV operating on Loose Road in Maidstone. When they arrived during the early afternoon hours, they were somewhat surprised at what they found. Upon opening the lorry’s trailer, they found eight men and women who are believed to be foreign nationals seeking asylum.

According to the Kent police, all of the trailer’s occupants have been referred to the UK Border Agency in Dover. They will determine whether deportation is appropriate or not. As for the driver, he was questioned on suspicion of aiding and abetting illegal entry into the UK. As of this writing, there is no indication as to whether he’ll be charged or not.

It should be noted that this is not the first time something like this has happened. Although these types of incidents are not uncovered every day, they are more common than most people know. Despite HGV training that would hopefully dissuade drivers from providing illegal transportation to foreigners, there are still those who do so.

In this particular case, receiving HGV training in Kent likely would not have prevented this incident. The driver’s training already made him aware of what the law allows in terms of transporting human cargo, be they foreign nationals or local residents.

He would also have been aware of the safety issues of transporting people in his trailer. If he knew the individuals were in the back of his lorry, he made a conscious decision to transport them. If he were ignorant, then training would not have helped anyway.

In either case, the HGV Training Centre offers HGV training in Kent and all over the UK. Each of our facilities is staffed by trained personnel whose main concern is to make sure each of our students learn what is necessary to pass their tests. We offer training for:

• HGVs – lorries, heavy construction equipment, box trucks, etc.
• PCVs – coaches, buses, ambulances, etc.
• horseboxes, horsebox trailers, light trailers
• forklifts, rough terrain forklifts
• caravans.

When you receive your training through us, you’ll notice we take an approach that focuses on concentrated training within a short span of time. That’s because we believe this is the best way to help students retain the information needed to pass their tests. Our 92% first-time pass rate for the HGV theory test is but one example demonstrating our success.

We also offer corporate and fleet training for companies of all sizes. Our training can consist mainly of preparing new drivers to be licensed or offer ongoing remedial training to keep company drivers up to speed. We even offer CPC driver training in compliance with new regulations.

Regardless of your driver training needs, the HGV Training Centre should be your training provider of choice. We are one of the UK’s leading companies offering professional driver training. When you complete your training through us, you will be ready to be part of the exciting haulage and transport industry.