UPDATE TUESDAY 4PM: Three Syrians and Kuwaiti being questioned after arrest in Cowbit

The men were seen walking along the A1073 after getting out of a lorry in a layby at about 10.20am yesterday morning.

Police then contacted officials from Home Office Immigration Enforcement who detained while their cases are being progressed.

A Home Office spokesman said: “Where someone is found to have no legal right to remain in the UK, we will take action to remove them.”

TUESDAY 10.50AM: Four Syrians arrested on immigration matters on A1073 in Cowbit

Four men, all thought to be from Syria, are being questioned by immigration officials after being arrested on the A1073 in Cowbit.

The men, aged 23, 31, 38 and 45, were reported to police by a member of the public who saw them in a layby after getting out of lorry at about 10.20am yesterday.

When police arrived, the men were walking along the A16 where they were arrested and taken into custody while waiting for officials from Home Office Immigration Enforcement to arrive.

The lorry has not been traced at this time and anyone with information as to its whereabouts should call 101, quoting incident 109 of February 23.

Meanwhile, a man arrested on suspicion of immigration offences in Market Deeping on Friday morning has been released without charge.

The man, aged in his 30s and thought to be from Sudan, was found in the back of a lorry in Sunderland Road near the A15 and arrested at about 11.15am.

Police in Cambridgeshire had earlier received reports of suspected illegal immigrants in the back of a lorry on the A47 Paston Parkway (A47) in Peterborough heading towards Market Deeping on the A15.

When the lorry was stopped, police found one man in the back of the lorry and he was taken to Peterborough’s Thorpe Wood Police Station for questioning.

A Home Office spokesman said: “We work closely with the police to tackle illegal immigration and continue to strengthen the security of our border to stop those who have no right to enter the UK.

“If people have a genuine need of protection then they should claim asylum in the first safe country they reach.

“However, if they are just seeking to evade immigration control then they need to know that they are risking their lives and that they will get caught.

“The new Immigration Act makes it harder for people to live in the UK illegally and harder for illegal immigrants to abuse our benefits and public services.

“But the Act makes it easier for us to remove them by reducing the number of appeals and where someone is found to have no legal right to remain in the UK, we will take action to remove them.”