More than a dozen children found in refrigerated truck at UK port

Twenty-one people, including 15 children, have been found inside a refrigerated truck at a UK port.

Twenty-one people, including children as young as 12, have been found inside a refrigerated lorry entering the UK. Source: E+

Children as young as 12 have been found among 21 people stowed inside a refrigerated truck carrying sparkling water at a British port, the BBC reports.

The group, thought to be from Vietnam, was found by the Border Force at the port of Newhaven, south England, on Thursday, and included 15 children.

The BBC reported that a criminal investigation was underway, and that a Romanian man, thought to be the driver, had been charged with assisting unlawful entry into the UK.

Two of the six adults were removed from the UK, and the other four went to immigration detention centres while their cases were assessed.

The children didn't require medical treatment, and were placed in the care of social services.