FIVE illegal African immigrants found in the back of a lorry, spent the night at North Walls police station, before being packed off to London by train the next day.

Winchester Police had received a tip-off about a "suspicious" lorry at Bar End, and the vehicle was tracked and eventually stopped in South Drive, Littleton, at 5pm last Wednesday.

Three men and two women, thought to be aged between 20 and 26, were found in the back of the Spanish lorry, and were arrested on suspicion of entering the country illegally.

The group was taken to the Winchester police tation, but officers were told that Home Office immigration officials did not have the resources to deal with them at the time.

Instead, they were given shelter overnight in a front office at North Walls, and then put on a London-bound train the next morning.

A police spokesman said the lorry was filled with cacti plants and blankets, and was believed to be en route to a local nursery.

Winchester's top police officer, Inspector Kevin Baxman, was on duty when the Africans were brought to the city station.

"It was pretty crammed in there," he said.

Insp Baxman said they were all "very hungry, very tired and weary".

"We called immigration and they told us they didn't have the resources to deal with them.

"They then told us to release them with directions to the Immigration headquarters in Croydon," he said.

"They didn't speak English, they didn't have any identification, they had no money, they had not had any food, and they didn't know where they were."

Insp Baxman said he had concerns for their safety late at night, and allowed them to spend the night in a front office at North Walls.

The following morning, he followed the instructions of immigration officials, and gave them directions to Croydon.

Police officers escorted the Africans to Winchester station, and negotiated with a rail company to transport the group.

They travelled on the next train, free of charge, unescorted. The Home Office said it does not comment on individual cases, and therefore could not confirm or deny whether they arrived.

Insp Baxman added: "Once immigration had made the decision, we couldn't lawfully hold them."

Fingerprints were taken in a bid to identify them, but there were no records.

"It's not the first time it has happened," added Insp Baxman.

"Those people are in this country, but no one has any idea where they are."

Winchester police detained the Spanish lorry driver, but immigration officers told him there was not enough evidence that he had done anything wrong, so he, too, was released.

Insp Baxman added: "We have five cells in Winchester and when we have five people in custody obviously it ties up a lot of police officers and it's very frustrating for nothing to happen."

A Home Office spokesman, who referred to the incident as a "lorry drop", added: "On rare occasions when immigration is unable to attend, the police will record the details of individuals and pass them on to immigration."