An asylum seeker hitched a ride into the UK on the bottom of a school coach and jumped off at the Dartford Crossing, before waving a thumbs up to his lift.

The Sudanese man is thought to have clung to the underside of the vehicle for more than 50 miles, between Dover and the tolls.

Passengers say that once he clambered out from between the wheels of the coach he waved, gave a “thumbs up” sign and handed himself in to police.

The UK Border Agency said the man, thought to be in his late teens, has now submitted a claim for asylum.

The coach was carrying pupils and staff from St Paul’s Primary School, in Stalybridge, near Manchester, on their way back from a five-day exchange trip in northern France.

Headteacher Janet Hand said: “On the way back the kids were saying they could hear banging, and at one point the driver asked if the children could stop shouting, but none of them were, and we realised someone was under the coach.

“When we got to the crossing the driver told the person on the toll and they said we had to go into a holding area. Then we saw the asylum seeker giving himself up. He was waving and gave a thumbs up.”

It is thought the man had wedged himself above the coach's rear axel and tied himself to the chassis a few feet off the ground. He was spotted on Friday, April 2.