A woman says she was left ‘gobsmacked‘ after discovering bedding and food hidden inside a cramped storage compartment in her £50,000 motorhome.
Angela, who only wishes to share her first name, says she thinks a migrant may have been living in the 7ft-long space for weeks after a string of landings near her home in Hollesley, Suffolk.
She lives less than a mile from Bawdsey beach, an area of the coast which is a landing spot for refugees smuggled across the North Sea in yachts and boats.
The motorhome-owner made her discovery by chance last week when she was checking the compartment was locked after moving the vehicle to access her garage.
A woman has expressed fears that a migrant has been living in a storage compartment of her £50,000 motorhome (pictured) after finding clothes, bedding and food in the 7ft area
She said: ‘I was gobsmacked to see that someone had set up home inside. They could have been there for days or weeks.
‘I was shaking in disbelief and suddenly feeling that my quiet, safe rural existence was severely under threat
‘There was a blue checked duvet where someone had been sleeping, and a pillow without a cover.
‘A blue and white striped Hugo Boss shirt was hanging up and there was a pair of beige corduroy Levi Strauss trousers, some thin navy jogging pants which he may have slept in and a pair of black Calvin Klein underpants by the door.
‘There was also what appeared to be a Swedish brand of cider on a shelf, a brown apple core and a chocolate biscuit wrapped in silver foil paper.
Angela, from Hollesley, Suffolk, believes the individual used a wire to pick the lock of the compartment door (pictured) to gain access to the area, where he may have lived ‘for weeks’
‘Someone had obviously set up home in there and made themselves very cosy. It is a mystery because none of my neighbours saw anyone coming or going.
‘It is actually quite a disturbing incident and I have been left pretty shaken up by it, and feeling a little bit frightened.’
Bawdsey beach has been previously been identified as a spot where migrants arrive.
In 2016, CCTV footage from a pub in Bawdsey showed six migrants jumping from a black Range Rover and running in different directions after arriving off a private yacht.
In 2017, seven migrants were detained after they encountered trouble on their yacht just off the coast of Orford, a dozen miles from Bawdsey.
Angela added: ‘My house is so close to the beach at Shingle Street and there have been lots of reports in the past about migrants being landed in the area.
The 3ft-wide and 7ft-long space where the motorhome owner says she discovered bedding, clothes, food and drink
‘I am wondering if someone came in there and then decided that my motorhome was a convenient place to stay.
‘They could have been there for weeks because I had not opened the compartment for some time.’
Angela initially thought she may have accidentally left the door open, but has since discovered a twisted piece of wire on her driveway suggesting that the lock to the compartment may have been picked.
She said she was certain that the occupant had not entered her motorhome when she was on her last overseas trip for the 75th anniversary of D Day commemorations in northern France last June.
Angela lives near Bawdsey beach (pictured), a landing spot for migrants who arrive on yachts and boats. In 2016, pub CCTV footage caught six migrants fleeing from a black Range Rover
Angela said: ‘I went into the compartment several times after coming back and there was no sign of anything wrong then.’
She added: ‘I reported it to Suffolk Police because I thought they might come out and check the items for DNA, but they did not seem in the least bit interested.
‘They just told me to bag everything up and put it at the end of the driveway with a note. I did that and of course it was not collected.
‘I think my neighbour has now thrown the bag away.’
Angela said she had added a handwritten ‘Police Aware’ notice to the compartment door.
But she claimed that police and Border Force seemed uninterested when she reported it as nothing had been stolen and there was no sign of forced entry.
A Suffolk police spokesman confirmed that officers had received a call about a pile of ‘belongings’ found in Hollesley at 5.40pm last Thursday.
The spokesman said ‘A door was reported as having been unlocked and no damage was caused. The woman was given advice regarding removing the belongings. At this time, there will be no further police enquiries carried out.’