'Illegal delivery drivers' held in caravan raid

Thirteen people are facing removal from the UK

Seventeen people, all believed to be working illegally as delivery drivers, have been arrested at a city caravan site.

Immigration Enforcement carried out the raid at New Stadium Road, next to the M32 in Bristol, where dozens of caravans are parked.

The Home Office said 13 people had overstayed their permitted leave, two were in breach of their visa conditions and two had breached their immigration bail conditions.

Thirteen of the people have been detained, pending potential removal from the UK.

The four people who were not detained have been placed on immigration bail and are now required to report regularly to the Home Office.

Immigration Enforcement's Director of Enforcement Eddy Montgomery said the operation "sends a clear message to those who seek to exploit the labour market to employ workers illegally, and those who believe they can work here without the correct status – the Home Office is committed to enforcing immigration law and will not tolerate any abuse.

“It is our priority to uphold border security and to ensure the criminals who seek to exploit it face serious consequences."

Dozens of caravans are parked up in the area

Delivery drivers employed by major companies are paid per job and are not directly employed, which means they work for longer hours and often earn much less than the minimum wage.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has pledged to crack down on those employing workers illegally, with migrants desperate to earn money often taken advantage of and left underpaid in unsafe working conditions.

Angela Eagle, minister for border security and asylum, said: “Those working without the correct immigration status and worker’s rights can find themselves in unsafe and insecure conditions, facing exploitation and even modern-day slavery, often facilitated by organised criminal gangs.

“We are taking action to smash the gangs by creating the new Border Security Command, which will coordinate the work of law enforcement and intelligence agencies to tackle organised immigration crime.”