Transport company Reinig Transport from Kolham in Groningen stops rides to England via Calais. Migrants create major dangers.
So reports director Gerrit Hes to De Telegraaf.'It is no longer doable. Our drivers were threatened with sticks, stones flew through the front and side windows and the drivers really had to pull out all the stops to avoid being besieged.'
The route via the French coastal town is popular for freight transport: it is the fastest way to England and therefore ideal for transporting fresh products. Illegal migrants know this too: they try to cross the border in many different ways by hiding in and under lorries. According to Hes, this involves a lot of violence. 'I am not waiting for the first deaths or serious injuries.'
Fine
If a migrant does manage to hide in the cargo, the driver can expect a fine of 900 euros. 'Worse, if that happens and you are transporting products in the food line, your cargo will be rejected. This is because the migrants spend hours among the stuff and just do their needs there. These are costs that are immense,' Hes told The Telegraph.
Reining Transport has over five hundred employees and an annual turnover of 55 million euros. Stopping rides to England is no light step for the company: the UK made up about 10 per cent of its work, a turnover of five to six million a year.
