Dutch military police picked up 170 people who were illegally trying to get to Britain via the Netherlands in the three months to end September, according to new justice ministry figures.

This is half the total in the previous quarter and the lowest number in two years, the ministry said.

So far this year 750 people have tried to make the crossing, mainly by stowing away in lorries at Dutch ports. Of them, seven in 10 had Albanian nationality, but several Afghans and Vietnamese were also picked up.

Most of the attempts were made at Hoek van Holland near The Hague but IJmuiden, which offers an overnight ferry service to Newcastle, was also popular.

Military police say the reduction in the number of stowaways is due to the introduction of better checks.