A FERRY operator could be facing a £28,000 bill after bringing 14 asylum seekers into the region unwittingly.

The stowaways, including a six-and-a-half month pregnant woman and two 17-year-olds, arrived at Teesport on the P&O North Sea Ferries freight vessel, the Norstream, at 11am on Wednesday.

They gave themselves up to ferry staff, who reported them to immigration officers. An Iranian man was taken back to Zeebrugge, in Belgium, where the ferry had sailed from. The rest lodged applications for asylum.

Emergency accommodation was organised by the North of England Refugees Service, and the asylum seekers are due to be interviewed formally by immigration officers.

A Home Office spokesman said an investigation was under way into how they got into the country.

He said: "Any carrier bringing undocumented arrivals could be liable for a fine of up to £2,000 per person."

Mark Evans, a freight manager for P&O, said he was unsure how the 14 went undetected. "They were concealed in an unaccompanied trailer which had been delivered to our port in Zeebrugge. We are checking how it got through our security checks," he said.

Pete Widlinski, of the North of England Refugees Service, said more than 100 refugees a year arrived illegally at Teesside.

"We've had 13, 15 and 19 coming in at once," he said.

"It's a huge problem, but I don't think this area is particularly targeted."

Eight refugees are Turkish nationals of Kurdish origin and five are Albanian, and most are in their 20s. They are thought to have fled persecution and ethnic cleansing.

Mr Widlinski said: "A couple of them had clearly been sick and they are quite thin.

"They ate everything we gave them and drank lots of water."

Mr Widlinksi urged anyone who can donate towels, clothes, bedding, toiletries or tinned or dried foods to contact the Refugees Service on (01641) 217447.