Border Force officers opened the back of a van containing a load of tyres and discovered 12 illegal Vietnamese immigrants, a court heard.

Aaron Harris and Katy Bethel had arrived at the Eurotunnel shuttle terminal in Coquelles, France, in the Mercedes Sprinter van.

Harris, who was driving, told officers they went across the Channel for a day trip and had just been “along the long thing”. Bethel, 28, added: “...along the beach.”

Prosecutor Michael Morris said Harris revealed it was a work van and claimed everything in it was his except the tyres, which belonged to his boss.

“Mr Harris was requested to open the rear doors,” Mr Morris told Maidstone Crown Court. “Upon opening the doors officers saw what appeared to be jeans or jeaned legs within the tyres.

“An officer said: ‘What’s that then?’ He replied: ‘How did he get in?’

“In total there were 12 Vietnamese nationals in the back of that van concealed in the load of tyres. They were all illegal entrants trying to get into the United Kingdom.”

Bethel, of Dial Road, Gillingham, denies assisting unlawful immigration on July 4 2015. Harris, 28, of the same address, has admitted the charge.

The trial continues.