EU arrivals have jobs already

More than 5,000 eastern Europeans have already arrived in Britain after the doors were opened to the EU's 10 new member states.

Most are believed to have found work, confounding fears of an influx of benefit tourists as 75 million people gained the right to live and work in Britain. Thousands more will arrive from the new EU states in the next few months.

Sources at three destinations - Stansted airport, Dover docks and Victoria coach station - said that about 5,500 people had arrived in the first 72 hours of the new Europe.

Most had come from Poland and Slovakia and on one bus were a cross-section of Europe's new citizens. The Evening Standard travelled with 43 passengers from Warsaw on the first coach to reach Victoria from Poland on Saturday - and found most had jobs to go to.

A survey of 22 of the passengers found 16 had jobs arranged, while two spent the weekend hunting for work. Four more were on fact-findingtrips. One teenager was carryingout voluntary work with disabled people to improve his English, and none of the 22 said they had any intention of claiming benefits.

Some are builders, some are au pairs and some will work on farms - while many left Poland with degrees and are proficient in English. But they all say they have places to live, are happy to pay British taxes, and are just glad of the chance to work. They are leavinga life of high unemployment and low wages in Poland, where a nanny can earn as little as £1,200 a year and even a qualified engineer can expect an annual salary of only £3,000.

The minimum wage in Britain seems generous by comparison at £9,360 a year. Some, like 21-year-old administration graduate Agnieszka Paszkiewicz, hope to live in Britain for the rest of her life.

Agnieszka, unemployed in Poland for months after graduating, began work yesterday as an au pair for a 29-yearold Kenyan medical student and her disabled seven-year-old son in High Barnet earning £55 a week.

She said: "Here if you're smart and work hard you can get on. It is the new America."

Others, like 41-year-old builder Bogdan Zalewski, have worked in London illegally before being found out and deported. He started work today - legally - with a Gant's Hill building firm.

"The funniest thing was when we arrived at Dover on Saturday we drove straight past the shed I had been locked up in those four times when Immigration caught me trying to sneak in," he said. Almost all of the travellers had carefully memorised their plans and names and addresses of contacts but were relieved when immigration officers waved them through at Dover.

Rafal Radosz, 27, had gone back to Poland to bring his girlfriend Monika Feterlich, 23, to London. Monika said: "I spent the weekend looking around London and will find work today.

"Rafal has a good job as a builder while he perfects his English. But he has plans. When he is satisfied he knows the way ahead he will set up his own company designing scaffolding.

"At the moment I am a bit scared and my English is terrible but I really think we'll make our life here."