SUSPECT illegal immigrants were taken off the streets of Southampton this morning as police and the immigration service swooped in dawn raids across the city.

Checkpoints were set up in two locations on The Avenue and Bevois Valley in a bid to capture illegal immigrant workers in an operation involving 35 personnel from the police and the Home Office.

Van loads of suspects were pulled over by police allowing immigration officials to carry out roadside interviews to determine whether the workers were in the country legally.

More than 30 men from a number of countries including Afghanistan, Poland, Latvia and Russia were detained this morning at the locations while checks were made on their immigration status.

Meanwhile another 25 had been arrested for flouting immigration law.

Many looked bemused as they were asked for their immigration papers claiming they were on their way to London.

Tony McCormack, head of the joint operation codenamed Tigermoth, said the roadside checks were part of an ongoing crackdown on illegal workers.

"This is part of a sequence of operations that we have ongoing. The illegal immigrant worker trade is highly organised and we are working in partnership with the police and the Department for Work and Pensions on intelligence-led operations like these to target it.

"It is from operations like these we are not only able to take people off the streets but gain information from interviewing them about the gang masters who organise the trade."

Immigration officers were able to use state-of-the-art technology including a fingerprint recognition pad and mobile databases to determine whether the suspects were genuine immigrants or using false documents and identities to enable them to work.

A Home Office spokesman said: "Some of these people could well be working legally and we are able to confirm that in a matter of minutes thanks to this equipment."

Inspector Chris Kirby added: "This sort of operation shows that we will not tolerate illegal workers in Southampton."

Those who had been arrested were taken to Fareham and Havant police stations to be interviewed.