A people smuggler who hid a Vietnamese woman behind his car’s passenger glove compartment has been jailed.

Shocking photos of the migrant crammed inside what a judge described as an "expertly fitted", custom-built hideaway in Jozef Balog's Vauxhall Vectra were taken by Border Force officers.

Canterbury Crown Court heard the woman was within inches of serious injury or even death if the vehicle had been involved in an accident or her hair had become trapped around the steering wheel shaft.

To fit her into the cramped space, the passenger airbag had been removed, along with the car's air-conditioning and heating system.

The fuse and relay boards had also been moved and tied into an upper area behind the passenger-side dashboard, while water pipes from the engine had been re-routed.

A makeshift metal support had also been installed behind the driver's side of the dashboard.

It is not known how long the woman had been in the hide before she was discovered at the UK control zone of the Eurotunnel in Coquelles, France, in the early hours of June 5, 2022.

When stopped, dad-of-four Balog had claimed to be returning to his home in Manchester after visiting relatives in his native country.

But officers became suspicious when they noticed the carpet in the passenger footwell was further forward than expected.

Also in the vehicle sitting in the front passenger seat was a female relative said in court to have been acting as "window dressing" so as to avoid a lone driver raising suspicion.

Balog, of Constable Street, Manchester, later admitted assisting unlawful immigration and appeared for sentencing today (Tuesday).

His relative, believed to be an aunt, was also charged with the same offence but was cleared by a jury following a trial last week.

The prosecution had alleged she was "jointly" involved in the people-smuggling operation rather than being "exploited and or recruited" by 33-year-old Balog.

The court heard the Slovakian had moved with his wife and their children to live with his parents in the Old Trafford area of Manchester in May 2022.

The youngest child, now three, suffers from a disability affecting development and so they hoped to receive better medical care in the UK.

But Philip Hill, defending, said the former steel mill worker succumbed to temptation when he was offered the deposit on a two-bedroom flat plus two months' rent in return for assisting in the smuggling plan.

The lawyer added however that Balog did not know "the exact nature" of the operation.

Jailing Balog for two-and-a-half years, Judge Simon Taylor KC said he had acted "selfishly to meet his family's needs rather than out of pure greed", and that his role was "subordinate" to others higher up the chain.

But the judge added: "You played an integral role in what was a sophisticated people-smuggling exercise.

"The inside of the front of the car on the passenger side had been taken out so you could hide an illegal immigrant."

Despite being jailed, Balog was to be immediately freed from prison having already served 19 months on remand.

The Vietnamese woman was identified, deemed to be an illegal entrant, and served with the requisite paperwork.

Speaking after the sentencing hearing, Steve Blackwell, deputy director of criminal and financial investigations at the Home Office, said: “This is a truly shocking case that shows the callous disregard these criminals have for the lives and safety of the vulnerable people they exploit.

“We have once again shown that those who seek to exploit our border will be caught and brought to justice.

“I am grateful to the officers who identified this horrific incident and brought the case to a positive conclusion.”