FOUR men have been arrested after being found trying to get to Britain by walking through the Channel Tunnel.

The men, in their 20s and thought to be from Afghanistan, were spotted on CCTV by Eurotunnel staff and by a train driver as they made their way through the south tunnel.

The incident began at 8.30am French time on Wednesday, when the discovery was made. Teams from Eurotunnel pursued the men on foot, while a special train was sent through to check all the cross-passages between the rail and service tunnels.

Eurotunnel spokesperson Charlotte Brookes said: "There were some delays but operations carried on and we had single-line working while they were searching the south tunnel.

"As soon as the alarm sounded we slowed everything down and we had teams sent out."

The trespassers were handed over to French police by 9.20am French time and they were charged with a variety of offences.

It is a rare occurence for Eurotunnel to suffer this kind of incident and it has not had a problem with people trying to get through on foot since something similar occured in 2001.