ELEVEN illegal immigrants – including four children – who were super glued into the back of a lorry survived by eating Belgian chocolate, it has been claimed.

The group, from Iraq and Afghanistan, were discovered on Saturday when the lorry pulled into a lay-by near West Knoyle and people in a nearby café heard banging from inside.

Police were called to the A303 shortly after 2.15pm but fire crews were needed to open the lorry with a disc cutter after it was found the locks had been glued shut, according to onlookers.

The group of eleven people, including four children - one of whom was a baby, were then removed from the refrigerated lorry and checked over by paramedics at the scene.

A spokesman for Wiltshire Police, who was sent to the scene, said: “The driver was unable to open the doors due to finding a lock had been damaged so the fire crew had to use cutting equipment to gain entry.”

The owner of the Willoughby Hedge Layby café Dave Thomas said the migrants had been eating “very expensive Belgian chocolate” being transported in the lorry.

Mr Thomas added: “I was in the cafe on site with three drivers when someone came in and said that there was large banging on the side of one of the lorries.

"A couple of the drivers come in every Saturday just after lunch coming back from the continent and so once we were told of the banging, they went straight away to the back of the lorry to try and open the doors, but to no avail.

"It seems that there was one who could speak English and the police learnt of the total numbers on board, and organised three ambulances who soon arrived.

"The group had stowed way on the very back part of the trailer and had been feeding on the pallet of very expensive Belgian chocolate that was being carried.

"They seemed to have been very lucky as this trailer was a refrigerated unit, but the section that they and the chocolate was in was at normal temperature.”

A spokesman for Wiltshire Police said it is currently working with the Home Office Immigration Department.

A Home Office spokesman said: "Immigration Enforcement was contacted by Wiltshire Police on December 2 after police officers attended an incident involving ten Iraqi nationals, including six minors and one Afghan national at Willoughby Hedge on the A303.

"Where someone has no right to remain in the UK, we will take action to remove them.

"Immigration Enforcement is an operational directorate within the Home Office responsible for enforcing immigration law."