TWO men suspected of being illegal immigrants hitched a ride into the country on a school bus as pupils returned from a trip to Barcelona.

Students from Lymm High were returning from a performing arts tour to the Spanish city and arrived back in the UK on Sunday on a coach with a trailer carrying musical instruments.

After the bus pulled up to the school on Oughtrington Lane at around 4pm the trailer was opened and two men jumped out.

The men, who are aged 22 and 34 and said to be from Eritrea in north east Africa, were seen running out of the school gates and down Oughtrington Lane.

It is believed they forced their way into the trailer as the school party travelled through Calais.

Nearby police were called and apprehended the men on suspicion of being illegal immigrants. The pair have now been handed over to the Home Office.

One parent from the school said: “They ran over the canal bridge. Nobody was in any danger but it’s quite a shocking thing to happen.

“Thankfully everyone is okay.”

Lymm High head teacher Gwyn Williams said: "On returning to school on Sunday from a very successful performing arts tour to Barcelona, the staff and students involved found themselves involved in quite an unusual incident. 

"The trailer carrying musical equipment was opened and two unknown men jumped out and promptly ran off down Oughtrington Lane. They were spotted by members of the leisure centre staff who immediately called the police and some nearby officers soon apprehended the men.

"It turns out they were asylum seekers from Eritrea, who had somehow forced the lock to the trailer whilst the coach was waiting in Calais and managed to gain entry to the trailer without being seen.

"At no point did they gain access to the coach itself and no students or staff were in any danger at any point."

The Home Office will now examine the men’s cases in line with immigration rules and a spokesman said when someone has no right to remain in the country, action will be taken to remove them.