A GERMAN lorry driver arrested by police when eight suspected illegal immigrants were found in the back of his tanker will not face charges.

The 55-year-old man has instead been referred to immigration officials.

Firefighters pulled the foreigners, including two boys aged 12 and 16, from the vehicle after they were overcome by fumes.

The tanker, from Germany, had half-filled with a chemical powder created by its load.

The driver stopped when he heard banging from the trailer in Harrow Manor Way, Abbey Wood, on February 8.

It was just half a mile from his destination – Crossness sewage works near Thamesmead.

Witnesses told how the occupants, including a woman, were laid on the ground like corpses as rescuers in chemical protection gear and breathing apparatus tried to revive them. They were treated at hospital for inhaling fumes.

The driver was referred to the Border and Immigration Agency after being bailed to a south London police station last Wednesday.