A van driver has been jailed for 10 years for smuggling seven migrants in a hidden compartment which left them screaming for help as they were starved of oxygen.

Lewes Crown Court heard one of the victims crammed in the overheated concealed space – which was “the width of a human chest” – suffered a “life-limiting” stroke.

Anas al Mustafa, 43, was sentenced today after he was convicted last month of assisting unlawful migration by trafficking the six men and one woman in a specially adapted van on board a ferry between Dieppe in France, and Newhaven, East Sussex, on 16 February.

The trial was told the crew on the Seven Sisters ship heard screaming from inside a van on deck and used an axe to break down the fake partition inside hiding the people.

An Australian nurse and passenger on the ferry, Sari Gehle, responded to a call to assist the crew and described the female casualty as “terrified”, gripping her arm tightly and repeatedly saying: “Vietnam, Vietnam” – so she understood the group were from there.

She said the other male casualties were on the floor, with one vomiting, and another with a cut across his left shoulder.

Two of the migrants had lost consciousness by the time they were rescued.

The discovery at the port sparked a major emergency services response, with ambulances, police and Border Force in attendance.

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Sentencing, Judge Christine Laing KC said the offence “compromises the economic and physical safety of the nation and all of its citizens”.

She added: “The safety of this country and every other is dependent on knowing who is living in it.

“Desperate people are prepared to risk their lives to come into the UK, often with tragic consequences. They are exploited by those who profit from this trade and pay little attention to their safety.”

The judge also ordered the forfeiture of the van and al Mustafa’s telephone and SIM card.

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Jurors previously heard the hidden compartment was two metres wide, 194cm tall and 37cm in narrow width.

It meant the migrants were forced to stand, and they could not move to any meaningful degree.

They were not provided with water, prosecutor Nick Corsellis KC told the court.

He said while the younger migrants recovered from the dehydration and heat, one man had a possible heart attack, one woman suffered an acute kidney injury and another man went to hospital in a comatose state and had a stroke.

“The heat created by seven people in such a small space and the lack of sufficient air/oxygen had created a highly dangerous situation,” he said.

“It was no doubt this mortal emergency that forced the migrants to call for help in desperation.”

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During the trial, al Mustafa denied knowing they were in the vehicle and told jurors he was “shocked” and “completely numb” at the discovery.

The court heard how the father-of-two from Swansea, who is originally from Syria and moved to the UK in 2011, was introduced to a man called Badr last time he was there who said he needed him to do a job for him which involved driving a van.

In a police interview with no interpreter, al Mustafa said he was paid £500 on a previous occasion to drive the van to get an MoT in Liverpool, but for the February job he was being paid £5,000 to drive the van to the UK.

Jurors also heard that al Mustafa told police he did not know there were people in the van but because he was being paid so much he thought “maybe this time there [are] people inside”.

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When asked about the interview he told jurors through an interpreter the £5,000 sum was incorrect and he meant £500. He also said he did not remember telling police he thought people might be in the van.

Instead, al Mustafa told the court he flew to Amsterdam for a holiday and met Badr at the airport who suggested he drive the same van he previously drove for the MoT to take it back to the garage as there was a fault with the gearbox.

During sentencing, Judge Laing said she rejected these claims and told al Mustafa she was “satisfied you were not a mere driver” in the operation.

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