THIS is the dramatic moment when stowaways were found hiding in the back of a lorry at a Hampshire depot.

Three men were discovered nestling among luxury jet skis worth thousands of pounds being unloaded at a yard in Fareham.

Workers immediately surrounded the vehicle before police arrived to detain them.

The trio – who were in good health – are believed to be Albanian nationals and are thought to have climbed into the lorry midway through the ferry crossing to Portsmouth Harbour from Spain.

Two men aged 33 and a 22-year-old man have been arrested and were last night being quizzed in custody.

The discovery comes just days after UK Border Force and ports officials were tightening up controls on vessels sailing from West Africa amid the Ebola crisis.

Now the boss of the watersports firm transporting skis has urged authorities to enforce more stringent checks to prevent illegal immigrants who could potentially carry the disease from getting through.

The 44ft curtained lorry trailer arrived in Portsmouth Harbour on the Brittany Ferries service from Bilbao.

Daily Echo:

The jet skis were being transported from Ibiza where they were being used by riders at the Jetbou Ibiza water sports festival.

The watercraft arrived in Bilbao following a 400-mile overland trip from Valencia where they had travelled from the island by another boat.

It is thought the men cut their way into lorry from another vehicle on the way over from Spain and had been travelling for up to three days.

Nigel Kershaw, who runs Fareham firm Watercraft World, discovered the men while unloading at its Speedfields Park depot.

He said: “At first I thought it was one of our guys and then another head appeared and we panicked.

“All we could do was surround the vehicle and tell them to stay where they were until the police arrived.”

He urged authorities to tighten up controls and said: “I know they are up against it and immigration is on a huge scale but the whole thing needs looking at.”

Paul Hughes, director of festival organisers Xtreme Action, which organised the shipment, said: “I don’t know why they weren’t picked up but they should have more cameras on lorries going through.”

He stressed that the watercraft were undamaged during the incident and said he is working to book more secure trailers for next year’s trip.

A spokeswoman for Portsmouth Harbour refused to comment, saying that the UK Border Force is responsible for checking vehicles entering the port.

A UK Border Force spokesman said: “We work closely with the police to tackle illegal immigration and continue to strengthen the security of our border to stop those who have no right to enter the UK.”