Migrants concealed in a refrigerated van on a ferry on the English Channel were heard banging and screaming for help as they ran out of oxygen, a court has heard.

Anas Al Mustafa, 43, is accused of smuggling seven people into the UK in a specially-adapted vehicle on 16 February.

Jurors heard the crew on the ferry sailing from Dieppe to Newhaven used an axe to break down a fake partition inside the van to get the group out.

Mustafa, who is from Swansea but moved to the UK from Syria in 2011, denies assisting unlawful immigration to the UK at Lewes Crown Court.

Opening the case, prosecutor Nick Corsellis KC said the hidden compartment was two metres’ wide, 194cm tall and 37cm deep, which forced the migrants to stand without enough space to move to any meaningful degree.

Mr Corsellis said they were also not provided with water.

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

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

The court heard two of the migrants had lost consciousness at the point when the group was rescued.

Passengers on board the ship assisted, and Australian nurse Sari Gehle helped to provide oxygen and medical supervision, the court was told.

Mr Corsellis said Ms Gehle noticed one person “stood out” in the situation, who she described as an Asian man with a puffer jacket who was “sitting on the ground seemingly scrolling through his mobile telephone and was remarkably calm in her view”.

The prosecutor said that the man was the defendant.

The migrants were taken to hospital for treatment after the rescue, the court heard.

The trial continues.

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