A COACH driver told how he found two suspected illegal immigrants...hiding in the engine compartment of his vehicle.

Nick Bailey was taking a group of tourists to Veurne, Belgium, when the drama unfolded.

Nick, 47, recalled how on the way he stopped on the outskirts of Calais, to allow the coach load of day-trippers to enjoy some shopping.

He said: “We were there about two hours.

“My co-driver Mark and I came back out and noticed the group of suspected immigrants hanging around the car park.

“Our suspicions were raised and we checked all round the bus, only to discover two of them hiding in the engine at the back of the coach.

“We shouted at them to get out and they scarpered.

“Mark spoke to them and found out they were from Sudan.

“They spoke broken English.

“Both of us then stood at the front and the back of the bus to stop any of them doing it again and trying to get onboard.

“Most of the passengers didn’t know what had happened.

“Some of them were scared by the huge amount of suspected immigrants hanging around there.”

Mr Bailey, from Basildon, explained the shock and horror both he and colleague Mark Snell experienced when the opened the hatch at the back of the coach.

The driver, who works for SBC coaches based in Leigh which organise day trips, continued: “It was horrible.

“We just panicked.

“Once they’d gone, we had to try and balance helping the passengers load their shopping onto the bus, whilst guarding it. Normally we would help them but some of them had to just do it themselves.

“When we were loading, another two came back and sat on the ledge of our luggage compartment. They were begging us to give them a chance. We said no chance, not on our bus.

“We started to feel intimidated after an hour of standing there.

“They were so brazen. It was a game of cat and mouse.

“They would walk past you in groups of five or six. They knew that you knew what they were doing.

“The groups got abrasive and aggressive when you held up a phone to video them. Large groups of British tourists were filming the whole thing.”

The bus driver also said how French police did not arrive, despite several calls. He said: “Passengers called the police quite a lot.

“They didn’t show. There was no sign of them. It seems like they don’t care at all.

“They were targeting the British coaches as ultimately, they know where they’re heading.”