It's still a problem as I witnessed several young lads decamping from under a tarpaulin from a slow moving artic bulker on the A1 into woodland last week ! It wasn't far from Chris Dobbin's base - best check that they haven't taken up residence on one of your RM's Chris !

My bus number (if any): RML 2747

You would only be fined if you can't prove you didn't make a 'reasonable' attempt to prevent their access to the vehicle (if you didn't know they were there) or if you couldn't prevent but you knew they were there but you didn't report their presences to the Police Nationale, UK Border Force or Terminal staff at the first opportunity.

Very few places to hide in a routemaster, remember they don't want to get caught so a easily inspected bus with lots of glass is not so much a target at the Calais side. Plus they won't be hanging from the platform pole taking selfies as they pass through the Juxtaposed controls!

But it may be worth doing a walk through a empty bus before it leaves the ferry (not so much the trains because drivers tend to say with their vehicles) as when the car deck is void of passengers during transit the illegels recently have been known to swap vehicles - joys of CCTV on the car decks. The upper deck floor of a empty routemaster that has already been through check in France is less likely to be stopped again on the UK side then a lorry is. This makes it a more inviting place to hide rather then on top of axle under a lorry, and safer to jump off at any point.

Like wise a bus passing the controls with a load of passengers regardless of race will attract inspection if only a walk through for passports or a complete offload!

My bus number (if any): RMF2771

There is a conductor on board...... and those who worked at Aldenham know a very good place to hide from a cursory look in the staircase mirror :)

My bus number (if any): RTL 960, RMC 1458, RM 1585 and several RTs

We haven't had a problem so far, the route out of ton is along a wide dual carriageway with blocks of flats each side, then onto the motorway to the port which has 7m high security fencing each side. Then we have the sniffer dogs first, then personal checks, then more check...coach drivers moaning at the 2 hour delays every day messing up their itenaries and drivers' hours..

Without wishing to drag this into a political discussion, I would suggest it would have been better and cheaper to accept those wanting to enter Britain than the vast fortune being spent on keeping them out. Enough said.

My bus number (if any): RML2532

We're off to Calais again this weekend with RML2532, 4th-6th August 2017 doing more sightseeing tours. The tours run every hour from outside the Office de Tourisme opposite the SNCF station. tickets are FREE from the tourist office. Every hour 10:00 to 18:00 except 13:00 Saturday and Sunday.

A French-registered RM will be doing the next 2 weekends, then Steve Rorke's RML2454, then the first weekend in September the "new" to old London bus RML, can't remember the number!

My bus number (if any): RML2532