British police found the bodies of 39 people inside a truck believed to have come from Bulgaria at an industrial estate near London on Wednesday, and said they had arrested the driver on suspicion of murder.

The discovery of the bodies – 38 adults and one teenager – was made in the early hours after emergency services were alerted to people in a truck container on a gritty industrial site in Grays, about 20 miles (32 km) east of central London.

The truck was thought to have entered Britain at Holyhead, a North Wales port that is a major entry point for traffic from Ireland, on Saturday and to have originally started its journey in Bulgaria, police said.

The driver of the truck, a 25-yearold man from Northern Ireland, was in custody. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he was appalled by the news and was receiving regular updates about the investigation. “We know that this trade is going on – all such traders in human beings should be hunted down and brought to justice,” he said. (RTRS)