Paris asylum seeker found on school trip bus

STARTLED parents and children returning from a school trip to Paris watched in disbelief as an asylum seeker jumped out their luggage hold.

The school trip had visited Disneyland Paris before returning to West Lothian. Pic: Thomas Samson/AFP/Getty Images

The stowaway hid on the school bus for more than 500 miles and only appeared when the pupils from Whitdale Primary in Whitburn, West Lothian, arrived home early on Saturday.

The bus driver managed to catch the man, of African origin, before he could escape and police were alerted.

Parents have called for an immediate investigation into how the incident was allowed to happen.

The group of 30 primary seven pupils and three teachers had been on a six-day trip, visiting the French Capital and Disneyland Paris.

The luggage hold remained shut after it was checked at Calais before the Channel crossing.

A mother, who saw the man attempt to flee the bus as she waited for her child, said: “He tried to make a run for it but the driver grabbed him.

“There was a bit of a struggle but I don’t think he had the energy to put up much resistance.”

A Police spokesman said the man was now in the hands of the UK Border Agency.