Calais lorry driver fines 'incredibly unfair'

Haulage firms and lorry drivers have been fined more than £4m after migrants were found in their vehicles, the BBC has learned.

More than 3,300 fines were issued by UK Border Force staff in 2014-15, up 50% on last year.

The Home Office said only 7% of penalties imposed were issued to British drivers.

Here, Martin Flanagan, from Cannock, Staffordshire - a truck driver who has been regularly driving between UK and Europe for more than 20 years - gives his reaction to the fines.

"I own and drive my own truck for a larger company. I have been doing continental work for over 20 years and the hassle for drivers has never been worse.

I have had migrants in my trailers in the past - as far back as 1998 - despite trailers being sealed and checked, but have been fortunate enough to find them while I was still abroad.

I was also fortunate not to be fined then. The system of fines dates back that far and is a gross miscarriage of justice, in my opinion.

The fines were introduced on the preconception that the drivers know they are in the trailer and as such are complicit in people trafficking.

Therefore, basically if they are in your trailer, you are guilty and must pay the penalty.

I have thankfully managed to avoid it recently going through Calais, but that is mainly because I have treble-locked my truck.

I have seen mobs trying to get into trucks in front of mine and have been intimidated by them after honking my horn to warn other drivers.

If I was fined, I could lose everything - including my business and my home - because as a limited company, I could be fined twice.

Lorry drivers have taken extra precautions to prevent migrants climbing onto their trucks

It is all incredibly unfair. Everything is stacked against the driver. You just can't win now.

There is also the problem of safety for drivers, as these groups come equipped and can be intimidating.

I don't park in Calais any more as it is not safe and I have to secure my truck, as I own it.

I know other lorry drivers who are only taking jobs in the UK now as a result of all of this hassle recently.

I even know some others who are packing it in altogether.

It is just not sustainable. I have also stopped using the Channel Tunnel recently because of delays lasting hours and days, which are hurting my business.

So I am now using ferry services from Dover. Overall, time is being lost and that hurts businesses."

Interview by Stephen Fottrell.