A Woking dad has been fined £12,000 after two illegal immigrants hid in his campervan while he drove back to the UK from a holiday in Europe.

Edson Martins Francisco, 45, and his young family stopped at Lidl for 30 minutes before they went through a border control check at Calais.

Unbeknown to him, two men broke in and locked themselves inside the back of the converted van unnoticed, he said.

The father of four was astonished when officials searched the van before it was driven onto a boat, and found the two men hidden under the bed at the back left of the van.

But after a check of his documents and an interview he was sent on his way and he believes the men were simply let go.

So he was astonished to receive a £12,000 penalty fine six months later for "clandestine entry offences".

They said he broke the rules because he didn't check for stowaways before he got to border control, and his van cannot have been secured properly if they got in.

He's been given just 60 days to pay the Border Force penalty issued on behalf of the secretary of state - despite earning just £1,200 a month.

Vehicle sprayer Edson is contesting the fine, and said: "It's ridiculous!

"It's a huge amount of money and there's no way I can pay it.

"Border control searched all my stuff and said 'everything is fine you can go' - they didn't say anything else could or would happen.

"I couldn't believe it when the letter arrived.

"I was absolutely horrified when I opened the back of the van for border control and saw them curled up there.

"I couldn't even speak. All this stuff was going through my head - they could have kidnapped me or taken my boy.

"They must have got in when I was in Lidl. I just never thought about it.

"They must have broken in. I've worked with vehicles for years; I know how easy it is to unlock them.

"I didn't check the back of the van because I didn't think anyone would do that.

"I'm black and I get checked every time. I know I have to stay above the law so I'd never try to smuggle anyone in.

"Plus I had my son with me so why would I do that."

Edson was driving home to Surrey, from a family trip to Portugal in December 2023.

His partner, who is a carer to their disabled child and also studying for a PhD in neuroscience, had flown home earlier with their disabled daughter.

Edson is a Portuguese national but has lived in the UK for more than 20 years and has indefinite leave to remain, and makes the journey twice a year to see family.

He had accidentally arrived 12 hours early for the ferry - at 2am instead of 2pm - and didn't have the £100 needed to change his crossing time.

So he parked up his converted Ford transit and slept in the vehicle with his two-year-old son, now three.

The next day, on December 17, 2023, the pair took a 30-minute trip to Lidl to grab some breakfast at 10am, leaving the van locked, Edson claims.

Then they hopped in the front and went to board their boat - and UK border control officials asked to search the van and found the men curled up in the back.

Edson was questioned for six hours, he said, and his van, his phone and all his documents were checked, and then he was let go.

He said: "They just treated me like a criminal. There was no sense of my humanity or that of my boy.

"I kept telling them I didn't know anything about the people.

"I asked to see the manager.

"They checked everything and could see I'd done nothing wrong.

"The policeman at the end said 'you have to be careful, you have to look for these things', but I do this journey all the time and they never tell you to look out for this."

He thought nothing more of it until the penalty fine arrived on June 15.

It says he did not fully comply with the Carriers Liability Regulations 2023 in three ways.

It said the van was not "locked or secured" when it was left unattended, and he didn't use locks "appropriately and with reasonable care".

The third alleged rule break involved not checking for "clandestine entrants" before reaching immigration control.  

If Edson had checked the vehicle before going to border control he would have found the people hidden in his van, it says.

He thinks the men popped the locks on the 2005 van and climbed into the back before locking themselves in.

Edson added: "This whole thing has been extremely stressful and still is.

"Border control should make people aware that this can happen.

"I now realise there's such a huge thing going on with people trying to get in vehicles at Calais - it's the same people trying over and over, because when they're caught they're just let go so they try again.

"People shouldn't travel this route alone - it's not safe.

"If you check your vehicle and find them there and face up to them it could be very dangerous."

A Home Office spokesperson said they do not routinely comment on individual cases.