IMMIGRATION officials and police officers arrested 18 eastern European workers after early-morning raids in Kendal and Tebay on Wednesday, reports Justin Hawkins.

According to the Home Office the 13 men and five women had been working illegally at the Parmalat plant on Shap Road Industrial Estate in Kendal.

Deportation now awaits the six Latvians, two Lithuanians, four Russians, four Moldovans and two Ukrainians who were detained at Kendal and Penrith police stations after the raids.

The Home Office said yesterday (Thursday) it expected to remove the majority, if not all of them, over the next few days.

Two of the workers were illegal immigrants, four were in the UK legally but not entitled to work. The remainder were described by the Home Office as "over-stayers", who entered the country legally but outstayed their visas.

Sixteen of the workers were arrested in a barn in a rural area close to Tebay village where conditions are believed to have been at best basic. Two others were arrested at an address in Kendal.

All are believed to have worked 12-hour night shifts at the Parmalat plant for around £5.60 per hour. Many are thought to have been sending money to families in their home countries as well as paying a commission to an agency that hired them for Parmalat and paying for travel from Tebay to Kendal.

One South Lakeland resident who befriended some of the illegal workers, and who wished to remain anonymous, described them as "polite and respectful." He added that "they were really nice guys."

Parmalat spokesman Laura Gilbert said the company had employed the staff from an agency with which the company had worked in the past, but this time there had been a question about the validity of paperwork supplied.

She said the company had been contacted by police and the immigration department about the investigation into illegal workers and had co-operated.

Home Office spokesman Matt Brooks said all companies had a responsibility to ensure they only employed staff with a legal right to work in the country. But, he added, that police and immigration officers had worked in conjunction with Parmalat on the operation and were "appreciative" of the company's help.

Mr Brooks said it had been a routine, intelligence-led operation and its timing was not related to the tragedy of the Chinese cocklers who drowned while working on the sands in Morecambe Bay last week.