Two Bradford men have been jailed for "trading in human misery" by trying to smuggle a dozen illegal immigrants in to Britain in the back of a meat wagon.

Kurnail Singh and Gurokh Singh tried to smuggle the 12 Indians into the country by getting them to squeeze into a refrigerated lorry and sit on packs of meat as they passed through immigration and customs checks at Dover.

Immigration officers found the immigrants wrapped up in coats trying to keep warm in the lorry.

Kurnail Singh, 45, of Harrogate Road, Eccleshill, Bradford, was sentenced to five years in prison for organising the shipment of people.

Gurokh Singh, 44, of Pasture Lane, Clayton, Bradford, was jailed for three years for his part in the human trade.

Today Gurokh Singh's family refused to comment on his sentence. Both men, who were friends but not related, had pleaded guilty at a previous Court appearance to facilitating the illegal entry of the 12 Indian immigrants into Britain on January 5 last year.

Judge Timothy Nash, passing sentence at Canterbury Crown Court, Kent, said: "This type of offence is all too prevalent. It is trading in human lives. It is trading in human misery.

"It also prejudices genuine asylum seekers who wish for good reasons to come and settle down in this country."

The court heard that immigration officers at Dover's eastern docks had stopped a Leyland DAF lorry when it left a cross-Channel ferry from Calais. They had been acting on intelligence.

Nigel van der Bijl, prosecuting, said: "Twelve people from India were hidden in a solid-sided refrigerated container which had chilled meat inside. They were sitting on packs of meat wearing coats."

Immigration officers also stopped a Mercedes saloon car, being driven by Kurnail Singh, and a Ford Transit van, in which Gurokh Singh was a passenger, as they left the ferry.

Two bags belonging to immigrants in the lorry were found in the back of the van and documents linking Kurnail Singh to the lorry were found in the Mercedes.

Mr van der Bijl said: "There was also evidence from Paris that connected Kurnail Singh with a safe house.

"It is obvious that this defendant had driven to Paris, collected the immigrants from the safe house and driven them to Calais in the van.

"They had then been transferred to the lorry for the ferry crossing to avoid detection."

The lorry driver, Peter Williams, of Wales, was cleared of people smuggling after a trial at the court earlier this month.