A lorry driver who tried to smuggle a convicted criminal into the UK by hiding him under a blanket in his cab has been jailed.

Denys Dovhan's illegal 'cargo' was discovered as he arrived at Dover docks in a Lithuanian-registered truck in the early hours of August 8.

Canterbury Crown Court heard officers found Albanian Armando Beti, 36, concealed on the lower bunk.

He had been jailed for 14 months in May last year in Cardiff for an offence of producing cannabis and was subsequently deported on his release.

Dovhan, a Ukrainian dad of two, said he had agreed to smuggle him back into the UK for humanitarian reasons rather than for money.

But at the 46-year-old's sentencing hearing, Judge Simon James said even if that was true, the lorry driver would not have known whether his stowaway had any "criminal intent".

Dovhan, who lives in Vilnius in Lithuania, admitted facilitating a breach of UK immigration law.

Prosecutor Tom Dunn told the court Dovhan revealed Beti had joined him in his cab after passing through French customs checks.

"He asserted he had taken him onboard for what he said were humanitarian reasons on the basis he felt sorry for him and didn't ask for or receive any payment," he added.

Mr Dunn said there also was "nothing concrete" to demonstrate any money was "offered, taken or anticipated".

Nigel Riley, defending, said the migrant had told Dovhan he wanted to join his family in the UK and so he "naively" agreed while not appreciating the seriousness of his actions.

Jailing Dovhan for 18 months, Judge James said his "apparent ignorance" of how serious an offence he had committed "only serves to illustrate" the need for deterrent sentences of imprisonment.

"Whatever your motive, whether it be financial or compassionate, the reality is you have no way of really knowing what this individual's intentions were or assessing what sort of criminality he may have been involved in or subjected to had your efforts to smuggle him into the country been successful," he added.

Beti was jailed for 16 months during a separate hearing at the same court in October. He had pleaded guilty to knowingly entering the UK in breach of a deportation order.

When he left the country last year, he had told the authorities he wanted to go back to Albania as soon as possible and waived any right to appeal to stay in the UK.