A British couple were shocked to discover a young stowaway in their car roof box after driving back home from France.
Simon Fenton, 57, had spent August away in the Dordogne with his wife Sally and their dog, hiking and cycling through the French countryside.
The lawyer booked the pair into the Hotel Le Meurice in Calais on Friday so he could park his estate into the communal garage.
But Simon had to leave his Skoda 4×4 – higher than the 6ft maximum – parked on the street opposite the hotel before getting up at 4am.
Simon and his wife, both 57, sailed back to Dover on Saturday and then drove for three hours back to their home in Newbury, Berkshire.
Tired, he left his belongings in the car while he went indoors to watch the rugby – only to rush outside when he heard Sally scream with shock.
Simon said he saw the sole of a shoe sticking out the side of the roof box – and admitted “it took us a few moments to realise there would be a foot”.
He said a “small, dark-skinned hand” suddenly appeared, and the car shook as a lad – around 5ft 5 in – spoke broken Dutch and German with them.
Simon called police, who wrenched the illegal stowaway out of the roof box with a crowbar as they allegedly advised: “Stand back, he might have a gun.”
Worse yet, Simon explained the lad – thought to be around 17 years old and from Egypt – said his pals had stolen expensive shoes and their camera.
He claimed the dog bed had even been stolen.
Simon said: “I went to watch the rugby when I suddenly heard my wife scream from outside as she went back to the car.
“So I jumped up and ran outside, where we looked at this shoe sole sticking out the side of the roof box for a bit.
“Then it dawned on us that there must be a foot attached, at which point the car started moving and we could hear someone inside it.
“He spoke bits of Dutch and German, and we managed to gleam from him that he was about 17, from Egypt, and had raided our roof box to climb in.
“We kept him at bay while I called the police – who arrived, and had to wrench the box open with a crowbar.
“They actually told us – ‘Stand back, he might have a gun’.
“Needless to say, the roof box was completely damaged.
“We’d also spent a fortune on shoes – sandals, evening shoes, boots – for the trip, and we had the camera and the dog bed all in there.
“And he and his friends had stolen them so he could get into this country.
“We still don’t know how he managed to actually fit in the box, though. We’d have felt him move around on the motorway.
“I’m surprised that it wasn’t full of shit and piss.”
He added: “The worst part is that when he was taken away by the police, he was smirking. He looked really proud of himself.”
Thames Valley Police confirmed it was called at around 3pm on August 31 to “reports of a person in a roof box” on Simon’s car.
A spokesperson added: “Officers attended and a 17-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of immigration offences.
“The investigation is now being dealt with by immigration officials.”
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