A few existed to pay £ 1500 by the home office when they reported a migrant who held up at the back of their camper after returning from France, won their fight to destroy the fine.
Adrian and Joanne Fenton were surprised to find a Sudanese man in the rain cover of their bicycle rack when they returned to their Essex house after a long drive back from Calais.
The public-wife couple immediately called the police, who took the man away for processing.
But just over two months later, the couple received a fine of £ 1500 by the Home Office because he could not check that no clandestine participant was hidden in the camper.
In the midst of widespread surprise in their sentence, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said on Wednesday that he was 'worried' about this case, and it was 'important' that it was investigated.
Now that after giving the Daily Mail a full report of their disbelief in the unfairness of the punishment, Mr. Fenton revealed today that the home office was abandoned from the fine – although it did not cancel the penalty.
“We are both very happy that the fine is being withdrawn and very grateful for all the public support we have had,” Mr. Fenton told MailOnline today.
“But we still believe that the law must be amended, so that innocent holidaymakers like us do not get entangled in the same fall as we and fined.”
Joanne and Adrian Fenton were instructed to pay £ 1500 by the Home Office when they reported a migrant who held up at the back of their camper after his return from France
The couple has now won their battle to destroy the fine of £ 1500 from the home office
The couple found a Sudanese man in their mobile home and reported him to the police
The cancellation comes after Mr. Fenton appealed to border force by “notification of objections” in which he was detailed why he believed that the punishment was unfair.
The letter they have received states: 'The written notification of objection has been carefully considered and the State Secretary has decided that your liability is stated.
“After an assessment of the case by a senior officer, the level of fine per clandestine participant or person is hidden a clandestine participant in the UK £ 0.”
Mr. Fenton said that he believed that public pressure had played a role in their success in the last week in destroying the fine – in addition to the grounds he built in his detailed attraction.
But he added: 'The public consciousness of our case means that other camper vanners in our scenario can worry that they should not call the police in case they get a fine like us.
“If the Home Office and Border Force want to send a message to tourists who find a migrant who hides in their vehicle that calling the police is the right thing to do, the rules must be changed.”
The couple bought the Campervan after Mr. Fenton retired after a 28-year career at the London Fire Brigade who saw him rise as an assistant-deputy chief commissioner.
The cancellation of their fine comes after Mr. Fenton appealed to border force by making an 'notification of objection' describing why he believed that the punishment was unfair
They said they had noticed the migrant for the first time when they saw 'two white trainers'
After seeing the Sudanese migrant, Mr. Fenton immediately shouted at his wife to call the police and said he was “thinking about the man's well -being and our safety”
In the night of the Grenfell Fire who claimed 72 lives 2017, he was the man at the helm in the control room – the most senior officer employed – and was later diagnosed with PTSD.
The couple made the shocking discovery after returning to their house in Heybridge, Essex, on 15 October last year after a four-day trip to the Champagne region in France-Hun first trip abroad in the vehicle.
The Fentons believe that the man makes his way in the bicycle carrier after stopping at a French supermarket before they stepped on the shuttle spring boat to come back home.
Mr. Fenton, 55, told The Daily Mail how they unpack after the journey when he opened the coverage and saw 'two white trainers' with 'legs attached to them'.
Realizing that there is a stockway 'distorted' around their bikes, he immediately shouted at his wife to call the police and said that he was “thinking about the man's well -being and our safety.”
“I didn't know if he used drugs if he had a weapon. This was our home.
'We were literally in the driveway, with the garage doors open and offered access to our house.
“I established that he was in order. Jo brought him a bottle of water than some fruit. '
The man, who claimed he was 16, was stored in a bag that covered a bicycle rack
Shown: the bicycle rack at the back of the camper, which they bought after Mr. Fenton retired after a 28-year career at the London Fire Brigade
Instead of being thanked by the authorities, the Fentons were contacted last month by the Home Office and told them that they would be fined £ 1,500
When the police arrived to process the stowaway, Mr. Fenton followed his training as a first response to video which followed 'purely for clear reasons' – images that helped to become viral.
Although the officers on the spot treated the couple as victims of crime – up to the establishment of a crime incident number if they have to submit a claim about damage to property – things took a ridiculous turn.
Instead of being thanked for the authorities for their social mind, the Fentons were contacted last month by the Home Office and told them that they would be fined £ 1,500.
With reference to asylum and immigration legislation – legislation introduced in 2023 that the Fentons knew that they were applicable to truck drivers, but had no idea that they were relevant to them – they were told that it had been their responsibility to 'check whether no clandestine participant was hidden' in their vehicle.
Descriptively his surprise on the penalty, Mr. Fenton told the Daily Mail on Saturday: 'We were negligent? Serious?!
'Most other camper vanners and caravanners we spoke have no idea of this law.
“This migrant was not in our vehicle, which was alerted to the limit. He clung to the bicycle rack outside.
'And the border -patrolizing people – the professionals – had walked around the vehicle to do their own checks before we arrived on the ferry.
The couple was left for fear of the bizarre and unfair result would prevent people 'doing the right one' if they are in a similar situation.
“Nobody said they were negligent. The whole thing is crazy. '
Warning that the fines of holidaymakers because they were exploited by desperate migrants was counterproductive, Mr. Fenton told Mail Online last week: 'I am an outstanding burger and I really believe in doing things in the right way.
'It seems to me that calling the police is the right thing to do.
'However, if you get a fine, do you know what that looks like for any other caravan or camper or holiday maker throughout the country? Are they going to call the police? Probably not now.
“We are encouraged that if you call the authorities and do it right, you'll be fine.”
The couple – who have three children and three grandchildren – were left for fear of the bizarre and unfair outcome would prevent people 'doing the right one' if they were in a similar situation.
“I am so angry and it is so frustrating because we have done the right thing,” Mrs. Fenton told BBC Three Counties Radio last week.
'How safe is it for the daily holiday maker to get out of their vehicle, whether they drag a caravan, whether they are driving a van, whether they are driving a camper?
'How safe is it for us to keep getting out and checking if they are not taking them? It is impossible. '
'It is the legitimate people like my husband and I who come through and have done the right thing that is being given a fine.
“Where is the justification in it?”
Last week the Home Office said that fines – which can amount to a maximum of £ 10,000 – 'were designed to target negligence instead of crime' and emphasized that contacting the authorities is a 'enormous mitigating factor' in how people deal in these cases.
A spokesperson said: 'Responsible persons who have fully complied with the actions laid down in the regulations of the liability change of the airlines of 2023 will receive a reduced fine. The regulation is designed to target negligence instead of crime.
'We would expect drivers who are actively involved in people who are investigated and prosecuted in the courts.
“Increased fines, new maximum penalty levels and a new fine for the failure to sufficiently protect a fee vehicle, came into force on 13 February 2023 to prevent dangerous and illegal trips to the UK.”
It was approached for comment on withdrawing the fine of the Fentons.
