Two refugees thought to be from Iraq hid in a delivery lorry and were arrested at a Sussex pharmaceutical factory.

The men, both in their 20s, were discovered in a secret compartment in the articulated lorry at the GlaxoSmithKline factory, Worthing's largest employer.

Staff raised the alarm when a forklift truck driver unloading the lorry, which was delivering raw materials from Germany yesterday, heard noises from inside the vehicle.

A GlaxoSmithKline spokeswoman said: "The lorry arrived on site at 10am. It had come from Germany via Calais and Dover.

"A forklift driver heard a noise and called for security, who investigated and found what looked like a compartment under the lorry.

"Police were called and they opened the compartment and two males were taken out."

The spokeswoman said the men did not resist arrest and were taken away from the Dominion Road plant without incident.

She said it was the first time the company had experienced anyone trying to smuggle themselves into the country on its contracted lorries.

Police took the two men to the Sussex Police custody suite in Worthing. They said they were 25 and 27 and were from Iraq.

Police spokeswoman Jill Pedersen said: "On the advice of the immigration services, we were advised to release both men to attend Luna House in Croydon.

"They did not need any medical assistance."

The Immigration and Nationality Directorate is based at Luna House and determine and process asylum-seeking applications in Britain.

On February 10, Channel Tunnel operator Eurotunnel said it spent £4 million last year preventing asylum seekers boarding trains and entering the tunnel as they tried to sneak into Britain illegally.