Police have arrested 27 suspected illegal immigrants who were found inside a lorry at a motorway service station.

The discovery was made at Cobham Services on the M25 at around 10.50am, Surrey Police said.

The lorry driver was also detained.

A police statement said: "Surrey Police was called to Cobham Service Station at around 10.50am on Friday, 28 August following suspicions around a lorry parked at the location.

"On arrival 27 people were detained on suspicion of illegal entry. Ambulance crews also attended the scene and medically assessed the people.

"Surrey Police have now handed this investigation to the UK Visas and Immigration Service."

The arrests come after police in Austria revealed that 71 migrants - including several children - were found dead in a lorry on a motorway.

When police were first alerted to the 7.5 ton truck, the corpses were said to be so decomposed it was difficult to put an estimate on the number of dead.

It was originally thought there were between 20 and 50.