THE 15 men found on the back of a refrigerated lorry trailer near Chippenham told the authorities they were from Iran and Iraq, the Home Office has said.

Police were called on Wednesday night to the A350 near junction 17 of the M4. A total of 15 men, thought to be aged between 16 and 30, were discovered in the trailer of a lorry registered to an Ireland-based firm.

The company that owns the lorry, Delaney Transport International, claimed the vehicle had been travelling from Calais to Dover.

Wiltshire Police has handed the case over to specialist immigration officers working for the Home Office.

The incident follows the death of 39 Vietnamese immigrants in a lorry trailer in Essex last month. They had travelled to the UK via the Belgian port Zeebrugge.