Reports: Men entered Britain in fake tree

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NORTHAMPTON, England, Nov. 25 (UPI) -- British authorities said four men are being questioned after they allegedly entered the country illegally by hiding in a 32-foot-tall fake Christmas tree.

Northamptonshire Police said two Iraqi men and two Iranian men were turned over to the country's Border Agency after staff at a council depot in the city of Northampton, England, discovered them hiding in the back of a truck, The Daily Mail reported Tuesday.

"Following their arrest after being found in a lorry, four suspected illegal immigrants were apprehended and transferred to our specialist teams of officers," a Border Agency spokesman said.

The French truck driver is not believed to have known about the men in the back of his vehicle, authorities said.

Reports said the men were found in the back of the truck hiding inside of an aluminum and nylon Christmas tree ordered for the town center display. However, Northampton Borough Council officials said the truck was not carrying Christmas decorations but had stopped at the depot to pick up paper for recycling.