SECURITY checks have been increased on vehicles bound for RAF Brize Norton after two stowaways were brought into the Carterton military base.

Two Sudanese men aged 22 and 20 were arrested on suspicion of immigration offences after being found hiding in the back of a vehicle travelling from an army base in Germany.

They were only found when the vehicle arrived at Brize on September 27.

Vehicles entering RAF Brize Norton are searched on a random basis, but the stowaways were found when the vehicle – which contained paperwork – was opened.

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A base spokesman said: “No weapons or harmful devices were found on the stowaways.

“As a result of this incident, as well as normal security procedures, all vehicles that started their journey from outside of the UK mainland will be searched.”

The vehicle was travelling from Sennelager Army Camp in Germany, where the British Army’s 20th Armoured Brigade is based, but the spokesman said that it is not known at what stage of its journey the stowaways got into the vehicle.

A Home Office spokesman said last night the two men had been ordered to report to immigration officials while their cases are processed.

Last month Home Secretary Theresa May pledged £12m to help tackle increasing numbers of migrants gathering at the French port of Calais in recent months trying to get into the UK by hiding in or clinging to lorries and other vehicles.

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