Four suspected illegal immigrants have been arrested after being found on a P&O ferry heading to Dover.

They were discovered on the main vehicle deck of the Spirit of Britain ship this morning.

The group was handed over to French police while the ship was berthed at Calais.

Port of Dover Police oversaw unloading, checking all vehicles and passengers who left the ship when it arrived back at Dover.

Brian Rees, from P&O said: "With the delay caused leaving Calais, and the slower than usual disembarkation at Dover, we ended up having to cancel one round trip of the ship to get it back on schedule.

"Capacity-wise it wasn't a problem at this time of year to lose the sailing so, although inconvenient to passengers, it wasn't too disruptive."