'I replicated a refugee's journey for a TV show'

Nathan Rimmington and five others travelled from the UK through Somalia, Syria, Lebanon, Italy and France before crossing the English Channel back home

A lorry driver who took part in an "eye-opening" journey for a reality TV show said it has changed his life.

Nathan Rimmington, from Barnsley, and five others travelled from Dover to war zones and refugee camps in Lebanon, Syria and Somalia for the Channel 4 series Go Back To Where You Came From.

The trip replicated many immigrants' journeys to the UK via people smuggling routes.

After returning home, the 33-year-old said the experience made him feel "lucky" and though some of his views on immigration had not changed, he now realised he had got a "good ticket" in life.

The group of six, including Nathan Rimmington from Barnsley (second from left), were all chosen for their opinions on the topic of immigration and asylum seekers

"We were talking to some people on the journey and I was really rooting for them," he said.

"These were just nice people. They had backgrounds, jobs, but it's all gone because of terror and the "bad people" in the world.

"But also the people coming over are still the "bad people" as well. It's so hard to control. You don't know who's coming over."

Starting in Somalia's capital Mogadishu, the group travelled to the world's biggest refugee camp, crossed a north African desert, climbed the Italian Alps overnight, and finally crossed the Channel from France on a small boat.

"I've never felt heat like it," Mr Rimmington said, recalling the market in Mogadishu.

"I'd never seen as much poverty in all my life.

"These people are literally just fighting to survive."

He said Dadaab refugee camp was "so bizarre".

"They've started building towns and shops and restaurants.

The group crossed the north African desert and slept under a tarpaulin

"The desert days were sometimes about 57 degrees", Mr Rimmington said. "Being 6ft and nearly 24 stone, that heat hits you like nobody's business."

And although the desert nights were freezing, he said the biggest worry was not the temperature or dehydration but the local wildlife.

"We were laid on the floor under a piece of tarpaulin with a scorpion literally two feet away, it could kill me," he said.

"You've got all that to contend with too."

The group then climbed the Alps in Italy at night, which migrants do to stay undetected.

"It took about 20 hours and we climbed about 10,000ft, literally all through the night," he said. "Really, really cold, really exhausting."

Of the Channel crossing in a small boat, he said: "It was horrendous. The waves, 13-14 hours. I've never been so poorly."

Nathan Rimmington and the other five in the group went to refugee camps and war zones in Somalia, Syria and Lebanon before crossing the channel back to Dover

Mr Rimmington said he went on the Channel 4 show with an "open mind".

Although he said he did not have strong views on immigration, he objected to the £10,000 fines lorry drivers like himself can face if an illegal immigrant is found in their vehicle without their knowledge.

The Home Office said "legitimate trading UK businesses", such as hauliers, could be fined under the government's Clandestine Entrant Civil Penalty Scheme, but because small boat crossings were not conducted by legitimate businesses they could not be fined.

Mr Rimmington said that seeing children in war zones and refugee camps had particularly affected him.

"It's made me realise there's more to life than a 9-5 job and bricks and mortar.

"If you've got kids you don't know how lucky they are."

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