Motorists were held up on the M20 while police searched lorries for migrants.

Traffic was halted between junction 9 for Ashford and junction 7 for Maidstone from around 8pm last night, after officers received a tip off.

In a since-deleted tweet, Kent Police's Roads Policing Unit, confirmed the delay was due to police activity, and officers were "searching for a particular vehicle".

Police had been tipped off word that a small group of people were reportedly travelling in a trailer of a lorry.

It came after nearly 80 migrants were picked up in five small boat incidents yesterday.

The motorway search was called off about an hour and 20 minutes later after the migrants were found in Surrey.

A police spokesman said: "At approximately 9.20pm, Kent Police was notified by Surrey Police that three people had been located in Surrey and they were handed into the care of the Home Office."

Read more: All the latest news from Maidstone

Read more: All the latest news from Ashford