Row over 34 Chunnel immigrants

Police have arrested 34 illegal immigrants who smuggled themselves into Britain on the side of a freight train from France.

British rail firm EWS (English, Welsh, Scottish Railways) is now calling for intervention from France's newly re-elected president Jacques Chirac after it learned that the train had been supposedly searched before leaving for Britain.

All 34, who were rounded up when they arrived at Folkestone, have been handed over to immigration officials. EWS says the latest incident highlights how freight trains through the Channel Tunnel have been disrupted for six months, costing more than £10 million. It is pleading for security to be stepped up at the freight yard in Frethun, near Calais - run by French rail operators SNCF - where the cargo trains start out.

Allen Johnson, EWS chief operating officer, said: "Despite repeated promises, the French government have failed to provide resources to secure the Channel Tunnel rail freight services."