Brit, 31, caught by French cops after trying to run through the entire Channel Tunnel from Kent
A BRIT has been caught by French police trying to walk the entire length of the Channel Tunnel to France.
The 31-year-old man was spotted disappearing into the mouth of the 31-mile tunnel near Folkestone, Kent, a week ago.
It was previously reported that the man was an 'escaped' prisoner - however government officials have told The Sun that while the 31-year-old is an ex-convict he was not on the run during this incident.
The man managed to enter the Tunnel despite massive security measures inside the undersea facility.
Police teams were alerted on both sides and it was French officials who eventually found the man.
A French police source said: "They arrested him and took him out of the Tunnel at Coquelles,’ said a French police source.
"He was heading to France from England, and presenting a clear danger to all Tunnel users, including himself. He was running, so as to get to France as soon as possible."
Following his arrest on December 21, 2020, the man was fast tracked through France's court system and appeared before a judge at Boulogne-sur-Mer last Wednesday.
"He refused to give his name or address, but thanks to the British, he was soon identified as a thirty-one-year-old escaped prisoner," the source continued.
Because of a further information not being available, the man was remanded in custody in France, prior to his next hearing on February 1 next year, said the source.
It is estimated that the disruption to traffic caused by the incident cost operator Eurostar around £45,000 in lost revenue.
A spokesman for Eurotunnel said: "A person was detected inside the Channel Tunnel and taken into custody by the French Authorities."
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The first person to have taken on the tunnel was a Sudanese migrant who walked the length of the Channel Tunnel from France in 2015.
Abdul Haroun was initially charged with obstructing a railway under 19th-century legislation before also being held in custody.
But the 40-year-old was eventually granted asylum in the UK a year later.