Less than six weeks after the first driver death at Calais caused by migrants, a trucker has been struck on the head with a brick by illegals who then stole the victim’s vehicle.
The Road Haulage Association (RHA) described the attack on the unnamed driver, who is recovering in hospital with a serious head injury, as “extremely disturbing” — and noted that it “comes as a stark warning to UK-bound hauliers that migrants will stop at nothing to reach our shores.
“Since this situation began we have stressed that migrants are putting the lives of HGV drivers at risk,” said RHA chief executive Richard Burnett, adding: “This latest method of hijacking is is a new one and clearly shows that the desperation of migrants to get to the UK has reached new heights.”
The driver had stopped on the A16 motorway outside Calais, near Marck, where he noticed migrants trying to climb into his truck.
When he exited the vehicle to inspect the damage, he was attacked by the mob who then stole his truck and drove off towards the port — leaving the driver on the floor for dead, bleeding from his injuries.
The National Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service (NavCIS) said the hijackers, who were stopped by police about five miles away from the incident, were believed to number between 20 and 30 men.
NavCIS Industry liaison and intelligence officer Andrew Round said: “If the levels of violence seen over the last six to eight weeks persist, I’d like to see the military brought back in.
“It is just not fair on the drivers; something has to be done between the UK and French governments above and beyond what they are already doing.”
In June, a Polish driver was killed on one of the main approach roads to Calais after migrants dragged tree trunks onto the A16 motorway in a bid to slow traffic and break into vehicles bound for Britain.
The RHA reported that nine Eritreans were subsequently found in the back of one of the trucks.