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| Telford trucker wins appeals against illegal immigrant fine | Telford trucker wins appeals against illegal immigrant fine |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| A lorry driver accused of bringing illegal immigrants into the UK in his trailer has had a £10,000 fine overturned by the Home Office. | A lorry driver accused of bringing illegal immigrants into the UK in his trailer has had a £10,000 fine overturned by the Home Office. |
| Jim Rushton, from Telford, was fined when five stowaways were found after he left Calais on 12 January. | Jim Rushton, from Telford, was fined when five stowaways were found after he left Calais on 12 January. |
| He always maintained his lorry went through stringent checks, including a heartbeat monitor which failed to detect anyone on board. | He always maintained his lorry went through stringent checks, including a heartbeat monitor which failed to detect anyone on board. |
| He said it was "a terrible thing" to have the fine hanging over his head. | He said it was "a terrible thing" to have the fine hanging over his head. |
| More on this and other stories from Shropshire | |
| "I haven't got £10,000 just to give out willy-nilly," he said. | "I haven't got £10,000 just to give out willy-nilly," he said. |
| "I know I was innocent - I did everything I could physically do to check my vehicle was migrant-free." | "I know I was innocent - I did everything I could physically do to check my vehicle was migrant-free." |
| Surprise discovery | Surprise discovery |
| Vehicles crossing the English Channel are scanned using heartbeat monitors to check for passengers or stowaways, as well as searched by sniffer dogs. | Vehicles crossing the English Channel are scanned using heartbeat monitors to check for passengers or stowaways, as well as searched by sniffer dogs. |
| Drivers also have to complete paperwork for their journeys. | Drivers also have to complete paperwork for their journeys. |
| Mr Rushton - whose firm makes about 25 journeys across the Channel each week - said he had just been through the heartbeat monitoring machine when the migrants were found by sniffer dogs. | |
| He said he was "gobsmacked" when the migrants were discovered on his vehicle as he rolled back the sheet of his trailer for the border official. | |
| "As far as I knew I was clear, there was nobody on there," he said. | |
| "Of course, when I rolled the sheet back there they were... five of them. | |
| "I was gutted [when he received the fine], because as far as I was concerned I'd done everything possible to make sure there were no migrants on the back of my trailer. | |
| "I'd made all the checks, like we're instructed to do by our firm... I'd filled all [the forms] in, and I'd been through the heartbeat monitor and that never picked them up. So as far as I was concerned I had none on the back of of my trailer." | |
| Mr Rushton said the fight against the fine had "knocked me about", and thanked Telford MP Lucy Allan "from the bottom of my heart" after she backed his case. | |
| Ms Allan said she was "delighted" to see the appeal succeed. | |
| "An experienced lorry driver of over 40 years, Jim took all reasonable steps to ensure that nobody had hidden themselves on his lorry," she said. |